Teach Kelantanese not to cross Thai border and do ‘naughty things’, Health Minister tells PAS MP
(Malay Mail Online) – Kelantan PAS lawmaker Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abd Aziz should educate his fellow state citizens to resist the lure of drugs and prostitution instead of blaming Thailand for the state’s high HIV and Aids cases, Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said today.
The health minister also said since the opposition party has constantly touted its Islamist credentials, Kelantan’s PAS administration should do more to create a better awareness among its people on the dangers of HIV and AIDS.
“Pasir Mas has to go back and educate them so that they don’t go cross the border and do naughty things,” Dr Subramaniam said, referring to Nik Mohamad Abduh by his parliamentary seat.
He pointed out that temptations are everywhere and that it was the individual that makes the choice whether to give in or to resist the lure.
“We can’t shift Kelantan to Johor. The border will always be there,” the Health Minister quipped.
Nik Mohamad Abduh, in defending the state PAS administration, had blamed Kelantan’s high incidence of HIV and AIDS cases to its proximity to Thailand where drugs and prostitutes are easily available.
According to the Pasir Mas MP, Kelantan differs from other Malaysian states bordering Thailand such as Kedah, Perlis and Perak, due to its proximity to the southern Thai town of Golok, which he said is infamous for its sex trade.
Golok, known as Sungai Kolok in Thai, is a town in Thailand’s Narathiwat province that borders Kelantan’s Rantau Panjang and is only about a 40 minute-drive away from the Kelantan state capital of Kota Baru.
Kelantan has the second highest HIV cases in the country, according to the Malaysian AIDS Foundation (MAF) in September this year as quoted by Malay daily Utusan Malaysia.
MAF secretary-general Hisham Hussein said there were 207 new cases in the Muslim-majority state, out of the 3,393 total cases in Malaysia.
Hisham said HIV incidence in the state is 28.8 cases for every 100,000 in the population, which was double the national rate.
