ASIA/MALAYSIA — 12.06.2011 (APNS) — A country flip-flopping from developed and developing status every year. Despite our small population of 28 million with over one (or two) million migrant workers, HIV/AIDS is still heavily grasping at society. The dilemma of managing the pandemic is not focused on longevity of people living with HIV/AIDS - the challenge lies on the growing monstrous stigma, prejudice and discrimination that society shrouds itself, embracing these negative values as tightly as their core traditions.
Malaysia's official statistics is still at an average of 10 new cases of HIV transmission per day. I would merely multiply that with 4 or 5.
There are limitations of HIV Voluntary Counselling Tests (VCT) programmes especially on adolescents who are forbidden to take the test without parental consent. VCT is still an almost hidden, low-profile service which the vast population is ignorant of or merely do not care. Without knowing one's status, how can one look after one's self? Even if you know your status, the lack of mental health strategies pertaining to HIV/AIDS would send a newly diagnosed person to a nightmarish prison of depression or anxiety.
NGOs are caught in the complacent cycle of apathy and ignorance. Funding is always a never-ending concern, though NGOs depend completely on one or two major funders, thus allowing non-community representatives into decision-making positions, to influence their own agenda. The Government has taken steps to equip NGOs with skills and some resources, however the mentality of everyone seems only focused on funding. Do people living and affected with HIV/AIDS have any other choice for Champions? No. And definitely not the Government. HIV/AIDS was a fashionable 'red ribbon' affair back in the mid-90s. Now it is a business, an enterprise for the NGOs and those seeking to sustain their position of influence. And many people living with HIV believe they are mere "commodities to be traded or bartered."
The traditional tri-sector partnership does not exist in Malaysia. NGOs fight amongst each other for scraps of the funding pie. Friendly rivalry doesn't exist, only the sprawling bitterness towards those that secured funding for the following year. Solidarity? Oh please, don't make me laugh. There is no solidarity amongst NGOs. What exist is merely a showcase twice a year, during AIDS Memorial Day and World AIDS Day, where each NGO would exhaust their allocated funds for the events to "celebrate" in carnival-like, week-long pretentious show of solidarity. Many have said, there has been tremendous improvements to the services and intervention work. Sorry, I don't believe you. Have they failed to assess that despite the so-called improvements to their programmes, the HIV statistics have increased? Ten per day!
Rights-based approaches need to be prioritised. Not the cowardly submission of grovelling to the authorities that is done on a yearly basis. I am talking about Human Rights for the marginalised community, for those living and affected by HIV/AIDS and for those not associated with the consortium of NGO greed and foolhardiness. Without the knowledge, skills and access to advocacy, how can people protect themselves the best that they can? What about the concerns of the homeless people who are unable to benefit from NGO services when they are back on the streets, vulnerable, every night? And how effective are NGOs and society equipping migrant workers and refugees with the opportunities to live a life without discrimination? The immigration of indigenous people, the Orang Asal, to the piss-pot city called Kuala Lumpur, has made them vulnerable via poverty. And what about them? So many questions, too many.
My work with marginalised communities on HIV/AIDS, human rights and harm reduction started in 1996. Before that I was a relief worker, coordinating humanitarian & community-based work in Africa, Middle East, Bosnia and Aceh. This old dog is tired of the hypocrisy of Malaysian NGO politics. I have repeatedly tried, and I have failed. I hope the younger generation of HIV/AIDS activists do not forget the value of consultation with the vulnerable groups, and acting upon what has been pledged. Do not emulate the complacency of the NGOs and the Government.
HIV/AIDS in Malaysia will change soon enough. It will start from the one individual, through self-awareness and rigorous struggle, but that individual will make a difference. Repeated kicks to the establishment, and we will see the sunshine breaking from the gloom that we have created.
Zashnain Zainal -- APNS / Sources []
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