A third state has announced plans to introduce compulsory HIV tests for Muslim couples who want to get married in an effort to fight the increasing incidence of Aids, local media reported today.

PAS-ruled Kelantan Islamic development and propagation committee chairman Hassan Mohamood said if one or both partners were found to be infected they would receive counselling but would not be barred from marrying.

"It is then up to them to decide of they still want to proceed with their marriage," Hassan was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times .

Kelantan, where more than 900 people were reportedly infected with the virus last year, joins two other states - Johor and Perlis - which already insist on compulsory testing ahead of marriage.

The latest official statistics show that 58,012 HIV cases had been reported in the country by the end of 2003, Health Minister Chua Soi Lek has said. A total of 6,545 of them have died.

Vigorous public debate has surfaced recently about HIV sufferers. In April, a Perak state mufti angered human rights activists by suggesting people infected with the virus should be isolated on an island to prevent spread of the disease.

Aids activists say a lack of education about the virus, plus deep-rooted reticence about discussing sex and a reluctance to admit the existence of a problem are obstacles to Malaysia's fight against HIV/Aids.