I am Rainbow

“The ministry likes to promote (kudos) it but (oh, the BUT) not openly. We let (how generous of the ministry to tai chi) the NGOs (non-governmental organisations) do the work. It is not to say that we advertise the use of condoms on TV but we use different ways of communicating it or else people will think we are promoting promiscuity (paranoid, aren’t we?).”

- Health Ministry deputy director of disease control (AIDS/STD) Dr Jalal Halil Khalil in The Star 21 May 2007 Harder to prevent HIV spread

In other words, the Health Ministry does NOT want to be thought by others as the one doing the dirty thing and so, it passes the honourable (and tough) deed to NGOs. The others are traditional Malaysians who think that wearing condom is killing God’s gift? Or Malaysians would have sex with more than 1 partner at the same time after knowing Health Ministry is promoting condom usage? What? It’s already happening with polyandry?

Is there anyone out there who thinks that people who install security alarms, locks on their doors to protect their homes and offices from thieves are actually not careful about their possessions anymore?

If I were cynical, I would say the NGOs have to clean the shit that the Health Ministry is not willing to clean up thoroughly because well, Health Ministry thinks it must project a good image. What is good image to the Health Ministry? *stand still*

1 thing special about the Malaysian government is that the ministers (not all, of course but Malaysia Boleh!) always think of, “What would other people think of our actions if we do (this/that)?” The time spent on thinking such possibilities would be spent better on analyzing collected data (and collecting more data to get higher accuracy), to make them into valuable information and find ways to solve the problems from the cause.

• 
  Wikipedia - Condom (I put the picture up because the Health Ministry doesn’t dare to hahaa. There’s even a picture guide on how to put it on for guys.)
• Wikipedia - Safe Sex
• American Social Health Association - Condom negotiation
• Medline Plus - Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD)
• Wikipedia - HIV and AIDS misconceptions
• Birth Control Comparisons [English | Spanish], the chart [Adobe PDF]
• Web MD - Health & Sex guide

Is giving out free condoms (and shringes eeee) the answer? The first and foremost - I think more seminars, education (start them young to protect them), talks by people the students, kids, youths, prostitutes, gigolos, pimps, parents, teachers look up to. Someone who has been there and someone who know the right facts.

Compare sex (condom) and drug (shringe). Would a person abstain from having sex just because there’s no condom available? Maybe? Would a person abstain from getting the drug into their body just because there’s no clean shringe available? Probably not? Which takes more effort and time? Which is more serious?

Education is information. How you use it depends on yourself. Say you give a free condom to someone who is not in uniform. He or she maybe in school or a dropout. A GRO or a housewife. A pimp or a gay. A religious figure or a criminal. A father or a brother. Together with the free condom, he or she keeps the brochure about safe sex and reads it. Does she or he throw it away? Does he or she think about it and change her lifestyle for better health? Does he or she get the confirmation that he or she is doing the right thing in protecting himself or herself? Does he or she use the information to mislead others for pleasure or control?

The government has been shy about condom for years. WAO - Press Statement:05 December 2002 Restriction of Condom Sale When a government is not taking definate steps to prevente pregnancy and STDs, what does the Malaysians think about the government (since the Health Ministry thinks so much about that)? Not yet open-minded. Image over safety.

Of course the best way to prevent getting problems from sex is to abstain from sex. How many people are doing this? Hands up. What the next best way (convenient, cheap, safe, fast) to avoid getting problems from sex then?