October 2004

Balaji on AIDS - Christian fundamentalists rush in

source: Letters published in 'TODAY' newspaper, 16 Nov 2004.

     

  

 

 
16 Nov 2004
'TODAY' newspaper

Timely warning on AIDS

As danger grows, Govt urged to take 'ABC' approach to prevention

The Senior Minister of State for Health, Dr Balaji Sadasivan, has given a timely warning on the HIV/Aids epidemic in Singapore.

Our monitoring of international Communicable Disease Centres and United Nations statistics gives us good reason to believe that the World Health Organization's computation of 4,000 cases in Singapore, of which only about half have been diagnosed, is accurate because

  • Many in high risk groups still avoid screening,
  • While there is a legal requirement for our doctors to report HIV/AIDs cases, contact tracing remains weak, and
  • Due to social stigma, professionals and those who can afford it, choose to keep their illness below the official radar and secure their tests and anti-viral drugs from overseas.

Local gay circles have been in panic for the past six months as the rising trend in HIV infections from MSM - Men who have Sex with Men, became clear.

For good reasons, as the proportionate incidence among gays is running at 20 times that of heterosexuals Gays represent some 1 per cent of Singapore's adult population but contribute to 20 per cent of diagnosed cases.

Some of our government agencies seem to be working at conflicting purposes and our policy-makers need to make some hard choices.

  • Chasing after tourism and the pink dollar, we have in recent years opened our sex industry. Today, Geylang is touted as offering more "foreign talent" than Patpong in Bangkok. Tanjong Pagar's gay saunas and bars are advertised in the region as more exciting and vibrant then the competition in Taipei and Hong Kong. Unless we firmly pull back the reins, we will not be able to stem the rise in HIV/Aids.
  • For 30 years we have gone along with The Singapore Planned Parenthood Association, in promoting the myth that condoms provide safe sex. At best, condoms only provide 85-90 per cent protection against HIV/Aids. All condom packs should carry a clear warning that the protection provided against HIV/Aids and STDs is only partial and the risks are high.
  • We need an extensive and sustained campaign to bring home an ABC message Abstain from sex outside of marriage, Be faithful, ie refrain from casual sex, and use Condoms, only as a last resort, but be warned of the risks.

Tan Thuan Seng
President, Focus on the Family Singapore Ltd

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16 Nov 2004
'TODAY' newspaper

'Right sex', condom use the key to fighting AIDS

I agree with Hon Keng Soon, the writer of the letter, "Promiscuity, not sexual orientation, the real problem" (Nov 12). [1]

Our fight against Aids must focus on promoting "right sex", that is, sex within marriage. As for the "safe sex with condoms" slogan, condoms can fail due to product defects or incorrect use.

Educating the public about Aids disease is the duty of the Ministry of Health (MOH), and more specifically, its Health Promotion Board (HPB), which has an Aids education programme.

However, for many years, Aids education here has been largely a once-a-year affair on World Aids Day. Although the MOH and HPB websites have fact sheets on various diseases, they lack information on Aids.

The sensible two-pronged approach to Aids education should be

1. The primary message for the majority is that "right sex" is the effective way to avoid Aids.

2. The secondary message to homosexuals as well as heterosexuals who indulge in casual sex is to warn them that condoms are not 100 per cent safe.

Condom use can only reduce, but not eliminate, the Aids risk.

With World Aids Day around the corner, it is timely for the HPB to enlighten the public on the details of its Aids education approach.

See Leong Kit

 

Foreword by Yawning Bread

As expected, the moment AIDS becomes topical, the Christian fundamentalists rush in to hijack the issue for themselves.

The first letter is from an anti-gay group called Focus on the Family (no, it's not a coincidence that it has the same name as the fundamentalist anti-gay group in the US). The damn thing is that it is registered.

The government has no hesitation registering anti-gay groups, but refuse to register pro-gay ones.

 

Footnotes

  1. The Ho Keng Soon letter can be seen at Balaji on AIDS - letters to the press
    Return to where you left off

  2. See also the article When morality is lethal, (Dec 2002) which deconstructs the false logic of the above arguments

Addenda

None