Pre-nuptial HIV screening compulsory in Perak, too

Star: IPOH: Perak has joined the ranks of Johor, Perlis and Kelantan in making it compulsory for Muslims who intend to get married to undergo HIV/AIDS screening.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Tajol Rosli Ghazali said the compulsory testing was not a discriminatory programme but a way to fight the scourge of HIV/AIDS.
“Most worrying is that the disease is spreading through sex,” he said here yesterday after launching the marriage registration smart card and health screening programme.
Tajol Rosli said the spread of HIV/AIDS through sex accounted for 26.8% of the total number of cases in 2004, compared with 11.2% in 1994.
Records, he added, showed that in 2004, 13 expectant mothers were found to be HIV-positive.
If a partner tested positive for HIV, marriage was not encouraged, he said.
“But if they still want to do so, they will have to undergo counselling,” he added.
Non-Muslims, he said, were also encouraged to undergo screening and could go to the state Health Department for it.
On the marriage registration smart card, called N-Kad, Tajol Rosli said it was not only to identify married couples but also to curb the production of fake marriage certificates by irresponsible parties.
The card costs RM20 each.