SHAH ALAM - Parents need to foster an understanding in their children from a young age about the dangers of having anal sex in terms of health impacts.
Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Professor of Medicine Professor Dr Rafidah Hanim Mokhtar said from a medical point of view, sex through the anus which was the practice of homosexual males was proven to be high risk for HIV infection.
"In prevention method, some say that a safe (anal) sex is using condom, but I prefer to actually teach our children that anal sex, fornication or sex through the anus is very dangerous because the anus was not created to be penetrated with hard objects like penises.
"The epithelial layer of our anus is just one layer and it is also rich in blood vessels and can be easily injured, that should be informed to the children from the beginning.
"We need to tell them not to do this and why is it not allowed to have sex through the anus in Islam.
"Not only men with men, legal married couples also cannot do this because of the medical implications," she said.
Dr Rafidah was a panellist on the ‘Disebalik Isu Bersama FY’ programme conducted by Finaz Yunus, which was broadcasted live on Sinar Harian's digital platform on Friday.
The programme which discussed the topic titled HIV, Gay & Malay also featured Family Physician Dr Sakinah Sulong as a panellist and a gay HIV patient, known as Hakim Azman as a special guest.
In the meantime, Rafidah said, the boarding school factor that was often associated with same-gender sex practises as early as adolescence was now seen as equivalent to the cultural risk that could occur in normal schools.
She said the existence of homosexual culture could happen if there was no proper control.
"In order to deliver the message to teenagers and children, it needs to be clear. We need to reduce new cases of HIV, reduce HIV among young people.
"This problem is an issue of managing lust and it requires a very strong motivation from a religious, social and medical point of view.
"It is necessary to understand that if this thing (the practice of gay sex) continues to be done, we will be faced with the rate of young people living with HIV, depending on Antiretroviral Medicine (HAART) throughout their lives. Do we want to go in that direction?" she said.
In the meantime, commenting on the issue of 'ustaz songsang' who preyed on their own students, she said it could relate to past trauma that failed to be treated.
"This has to stop. Tahfiz institutions, religious schools and management, there needs to be a form of stricter screening, control, monitoring mechanism," she explained.
Rafidah was also of the view that the country faces problems in enforcing laws to control the normalisation and promotion of the gay lifestyle of the people involved.
The Health Ministry was also advised to adopt a campaign approach that was easier for the public to understand by using simpler language than the terms used in the medical field.