It irks me to see that the government is being discriminative again by proposing compulsory HIV screening for Muslim couples who are planning to get married. Wouldn’t it be better if the test is made compulsory for all, regardless of their race and religion instead of just the Muslims? By doing so, what are they actually showing to the non-Muslim? That they are only concern for the Muslim and not everyone in general, or they are trying to tell us that only the Muslims are prone to be infected by HIV?

I am not sure what message the government is trying to send across to us, the ‘ignorant’ Malaysians, but frankly speaking, even though to certain extent such compulsory screening can provide knowledge on whether your future husband or wife is infected with HIV or not, I truly believe that it does not completely help to improve the statistic or the stigma that the public is having for AIDS patients.

Why did I say this, dear readers? A mere test or screening without providing the men and women about the knowledge of how one could be infected by HIV would be completely useless, as sometimes, men and women practices extra marital affair for many reason-not satisfied with their wives, loneliness, frustration, etc etc.

EXTRA- MARITAL, mind you, NOT PRE-MARITAL. Which means, most gets HIV after their marriage because of their infidelities. Instead of making polygamy easier for men-like offering them Rm1,000 to take a single mom as second wife or something, why not encourage them to practice fidelity and devotion towards their wife spouse instead?

When men are allowed to take extra wives up to 3 to complete their quota of 4 wives, there ought to be courtship before the man decided to take another woman as his second, third or fourth wife. And who can guarantee that they would not have sex before they’re legally married? Who can vouch for that? And how could someone know that the one they are sleeping with does not have any STD or worst, HIV when they are just  fooling around or having one night stand? Is there any new type of condom that I am not aware of that will make some sort of sound or glow in the dark to alert the men or women who are about to have fun that their partner have HIV? Is there some new device that’s similar to pregnancy tester that could detect the virus simply by peeing on it?

People in Malaysia and all over the world usually found out that they’re having AIDS  when it’s already too late. While I applaud government’s new ruling that Muslim couple go for HIV screening before they get married, I do not think it’ll be effective, as no one could guarantee that the husband or wife would remain faithful to one another AFTER MARRIAGE. They may not have HIV before marriage, but how about after marriage.

HIV tests are not compulsory for couples who are already married to each other, and how do you propose that they will not have HIV after marriage?  No one can be 100% sure. If the government really want to ensure that Muslim couples are not infected by HIV, then, wouldn’t it be more effective if the couples do an annual HIV testing after marriage instead of just before their marriage? I bet that is better than just having couples take HIV test before their wedding ceremony.

Instead of just making men and women take HIV test before marriage, why not teach them the dangers of fooling around outside without their spouse’s knowledge. Tell the horny men not to visit brothels just because they are not satisfied with their wife’s performance in bed. Let those lonely rich  and poor women know the danger that’s lurking if they keep some lover somewhere. Scare these people with the horror of what infidelities have to offer, that, would be more effective than just having people go for HIV screening before they get married.

Get rid of the drug addicts punks and educated the youngsters the dangers of taking drugs and sharing injection needles. Educated the young and old, men and women about the importance of safe sex instead of keeping it strictly a discussion that can only be done in the privacy of the bedroom. Don’t go hush hush about safe sex to the teenagers. Kids these days are very curious and dare to try anything, and that does not exclude sex without protection. Educating people would be better than just making such test compulsory, isn’t it? If people are not educated and continued to be ignorant, trust me, no test on the face of this blasted Earth could stop HIV from continuing to spread.

Cleffairy: It’s so hard for people to get married these days. So much hassle have to be gone through by couples. Some might just skip the hassle and live in sin instead. Wouldn’t that be worst?