Dr Balaji's claim that rising number of HIV/AIDS cases is caused by gay parties makes me wonder if he is perpetuating the stigma he wants to abolish and further driving misconception deeper about the gay community at large. It also makes me wonder if he considered that because people are more educated and more informed about anonymous AIDS testing and because there are more gay people (much thanks to Action For Aids and other organisations) going for such test, it is inevitable that there will be an increase number of infection.

For example, assuming that no one knows about AIDS and no one goes for AIDS testing, statistically, country A would have nobody with HIV/AIDS. However, if an organisation raises awareness of AIDS via campaign and education, there are people who go for the test and then there will be people with AIDS, can we then say that there is an epidemic? More figures are needed before we start to point fingers. In fact I propose that this increase in infection is in fact a sign that more people are willing to go for testing. Rather than looking at the absolute figures, I suggest we look at the amount of people who goes
for test. If there are say 200% more people that went for HIV test, than a 28% increase in the absolute people who are infected with HIV is a rather modest figure

While I agree with Dr Balaji that we must “de-stigmatise testing” I wonder by highlighting that gays are the one at fault, ignoring the majority of the straight men, isn’t Dr Balaji adding to the stigma. For one thing I am sure, it doesn’t help anybody to start pointing fingers and claiming that an epidemiologist said something. But I suppose that is a great improvement for someone who used an article in a female magazine as statiscal evidence. To which I add that another
epidemiologist to-be told me that at Zouk and other popular parties for the straight fraternity also leads to people having casual sex. I have many straight friends who after clubbing, will bring girls to some nearby hotels and well we all know the story.

To combat a possible epidemic isn’t to point fingers, it doesn’t solve any problems. Actions For Aids had serious funding problems, but they manage to get their message across to an audience. But I still have gay friends who knows next to nothing about HIV/AIDS and believe that condoms are only meant to prevent pregnancy. Until a day where sex education can be properly taught without any unnecessary censure in the information, until the day where we can admit that gay men do have sex even though it is illegal which again depends on how one reads the law), AIDS and the testing of AIDS won’t be “de-stigmatised”. To which I propose that more campaign should be done that focuses on the gay community; which I am please to say that I have more gay friends that now conscientiously practise safe sex because they have been ‘reached’ by Action For Aids or other organisation.

And I hope that rather than pointing finger at the gay community, the Health Ministry and Dr Balaji can do more to educate the public and increase the awareness of this issue.