Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir’s French Knight of the Legion of Honour win an inspiration to Malaysian AIDS civil society movement

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Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir’s French Knight of the Legion of Honour win an inspiration to Malaysian AIDS civil society movement

KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC), Malaysian AIDS Foundation (MAF) and Partner Organisations congratulate Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir on the conferment of the highest French national award, the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour), last Wednesday.

The honour was presented in recognition of her work as a prominent activist and defender of human rights in Malaysia, including her leadership in the Malaysian AIDS civil society movement as the President of the MAC (1994-2006) and Chairman of the MAF (1993-2006).

“Her courage to speak her mind about social issues that too often get swept under the rug and be the voice for the marginalised and disempowered was the catalyst that propelled the national AIDS response to where it stands today,” said Datuk Dr. Raj Karim, President of the MAC.

“At a time when AIDS was more feared than understood, she broke the silence, challenged the stigma and gave a human narrative to a devastating public health crisis that disproportionately affected the most vulnerable and ignored segments of society – people who use drugs, sex workers, transgender people and men who have sex with men.”

Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir. Photo © Malaysian AIDS Council.

Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir. Photo © Malaysian AIDS Council.

Under her presidency, MAC grew from a coalition of just seven HIV & AIDS related NGOs to an umbrella of 50 Partner Organisations, strengthening the role of civil society in the national AIDS response and fostering a multitude of strategic partnerships with government agencies, religious authorities and donor organisations, at both local and international levels.

Her activism led to, most notably, the introduction of the national policy to provide free first line antiretroviral medicines to all Malaysians living with HIV eligible for treatment in 2006, which to date, has averted an estimated total of 14,764 AIDS related deaths.

Under her leadership, MAC successfully engaged Muslim religious leaders in the AIDS response, beginning in 2001, through their participation in the highly seminal 1st International Muslim Leaders’ Consultation on HIV/AIDS in Kampala, Uganda, and subsequently the development of an HIV & AIDS training manual and a nationwide rollout of training workshops.

MAC was also given the honour of hosting the 5th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific – the largest forum on HIV & AIDS in the region – in Kuala Lumpur in 1999, just a little over a decade since the first HIV & AIDS cases were notified in the country in 1986.

“Marina’s leadership at MAF is best exemplified by her relentless fundraising efforts as well as the numerous trust funds and financial assistance schemes she helped establish that have gone to save the lives of countless underprivileged men, women and children living with or affected by HIV,” remarked Professor Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Chairman of the MAF.

“This recognition is a timely reminder of the need to continue the AIDS discourse, as we work towards ending the epidemic by 2030. We are forever inspired by and indebted to her courage, resilience, passion and determination,” she added.

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