Malaysian AIDs Council president Marina Mahathir today lambasted the proposal by the Selangor state government to control and restrict the sale of condoms, saying it was an 'unrealistic' move.

"If you restrict the use of condoms, chances are the cases of HIV infections will actually rise and it may even contribute to the rise of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases," Marina told reporters after speaking at a forum to commemorate World AIDS Day last Saturday.

Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo said Tuesday his administration was looking into the possibility of restricting sale of condoms to stem promiscuity among teenagers. Khir, a dentist by training, however said that the restriction would not affect married couples infected with HIV.

Marina questioned Khir's motive in restricting the condom sale. "If you expect the people who are HIV-positive to be responsible by not infecting other people, yet at the same time make it difficult for them (to get condoms), how do you reconcile that?

"On one hand you are telling them not to infect people but on the other you are restricting them. It's crazy.

"I think with any of these proposals, they must be evidence based. Saying that it contributes to promiscuity, I'd like to see the evidence for that.

"At the moment the condom sales are not restricted but that does not mean it is easy to get them," she said.

Misguided policies

During the forum, Marina also said that policy makers often do not understand the issue of HIV/AIDS.

"They are the most ignorant about HIV/AIDS, therefore policies are often misguided," Marina told participants.

Meanwhile Health Minister Chua Jui Meng said the lack of information between the state and health officials could have prompted the Selangor state government's call to restrict condom sale.

Chua, who was also a speaker at the forum, said his ministry would look at ways on how politicians could be better informed so that they could be gainfully roped in to join the fight against HIV/AIDS.

"Politicians are known for saying things or doing certain things but they can be made amenable in the fight against HIV/AIDS and the ministry would be sharing our information with them," he said.

The five-day forum entitled, 'HIV/AIDS situation in Malaysia: Are we doing enough?' ended today. It was organised by the Malaysian AIDS Council.

According to Health Ministry statistics, a total of 40,877 HIV infections have been reported in Malaysia by June this year; of these, 5,309 developed into AIDS cases that have resulted in 4,056 deaths.

AIDS have killed 21.8 million people worldwide by end 2000.