Materia Medica Malaysiana

Islamic way for needle, condom programme

The pioneer programme to supply needles, condoms and methadone to control the spread of HIV and drug abuse would be implemented according to Islamic jurisprudence.
Under Islamic jurisprudence, anything that was forbidden was permissible in an emergency situation that could lead to death, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
“What we are going to do is warranted under the two principles of Islamic jurisprudence because HIV infection in the country has now become a serious threat.
“It had reached a critical stage which could lead to a state of emergency,” he said when opening the 30th national Pemadam annual general assembly at the Perak Darul Ridzuan Building here on Saturday night.
Najib said there were 64,000 people with HIV and that if drastic actions were not taken an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 people would be infected in the next two to three years.
He said the Government would make a final decision on the programme after getting an official edict from the National Fatwa Council.
Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Bakar, in his talk on The Involvement of Employers and Employees in Anti Drug Programmes at the Workplace, said general workers made up the highest number of drug users in the country.