Lee: Make premarital HIV/AIDS tests compulsory

Star: PENANG: The country should explore the possibility of introducing compulsory premarital HIV/AIDS tests in bid to reduce the spread of the disease, said Health Ministry Parliamentary Secretary Datuk Lee Kah Choon.
He said there was currently no law to force anyone, even those suspected to be HIV-positive, to undergo AIDS screening and treatment.
However, Lee said the true “grey area” did not lie in the shortcomings of the existing law but the public’s perception.
He said the move to impose the tests relied much on the public’s readiness in accepting such a law.
“We must first convince the public before we can implement it,” he told a press conference after opening the MAY@COM.MY workshop on Saturday.
The workshop was attended by 28 participants from the Balik Pulau Family Health Development Unit, Me and You (May) support group and various district health departments.
“We are trying to strike a balance between human rights and protecting society from the transmission of the disease,” he said.
Lee said in certain states, Muslims had to tender a HIV-free certificate before they could get their marriage certified.
“I am hoping that this could be widened to everyone,” he added.