DATUK RAJ RE-ELECTED TO SECOND-TERM MAC PRESIDENCY

New leadership unveiled at Malaysian AIDS Council 12th Biennial General Meeting; committed to addressing emerging challenges in national HIV response

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KUALA LUMPUR, 24 May 2014 – The Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) is pleased to announce Datuk Dr. Raj Karim as its President for the term 2014/2016. Datuk Raj was re-elected to a second term at the 12^th MAC Biennial General Meeting held here today which looked to appoint MAC’s new leadership line-up.

In the previous term, Datuk Raj contributed to MAC’s continued success in the delivery and expansion of much needed HIV intervention services for key affected populations such as injecting drug users and sex workers, which to date have reached more than 80,000 of them. She also led MAC’s advocacy efforts to promote and sustain an enabling environment for effective HIV responses particularly in the areas of HIV work place policy, access to treatment, drug policy review and stigma reduction.

“While we are pleased to note our achievements in the national HIV response, we are fully cognisant of the challenges that lie ahead. We are now at the crossroads of the epidemic – the alarming rise in sexual transmission of HIV in stark contrast to the consistent drop in new HIV cases among injecting drug users. Certainly this is no time for us to decelerate our efforts. We will continue and in fact redouble our efforts to address this crisis of sexually transmitted HIV in the next phase of the response in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health, by gathering inputs from all sectors. A more concerted and continuous HIV programming is required in the face of scarcity of resources such as the situation now. We call upon all our partners and stakeholders – especially NGOs working in the field of sexual and reproductive health – to consolidate our collective efforts so that we may reach out to a diverse group of people in critical need of sexual health interventions namely women, young people, housewives and key affected populations,” remarked Datuk Raj in her statement of acceptance.

Join us in congratulating Datuk Raj on her re-appointment as MAC President. She is also currently holding the post of Vice President of two other NGOs – the Malaysian Council for Child Welfare (which is a Partner Organisation of MAC) and the Pan Pacific & South-East Asia Women’s Association Malaysia, and a member of the Malaysian Council of Anti-trafficking in Persons and Anti-smuggling of Migrants (MAPO) representing the NGO sector.

Datuk Dr. Raj Karim at a press conference to mark the opening of the 12th Biennial General Meeting of Malaysian AIDS Council held on 24 May 2014 in Kuala Lumpur.

Below is the full line-up of the new MAC Executive Committee (EXCO) for 2014/2016.

President:                                          Datuk Dr. Raj Karim

Vice President:                                 Prof. Dr. Ismail Baba

Honorary Secretary:                         Hisham Hussein

Assistant Honorary Secretary:       Dr. Ilias Adam Yee

Honorary Treasurer:                        Ken Woo Kin Fai

Ordinary EXCO Members:

Prof. Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman

Assoc. Prof. Azlinda Azman

Dr. Zaiton Yahaya

Goh Soon Siew

Andrew Tan Tze Tho

The General Meeting of MAC is held biennially by 31 May. The 12^th edition this year coincided with the 22^nd anniversary of MAC and was officiated by Datuk Dr. Lokman Hakim Bin Sulaiman, Deputy Director General of Health (Public Health) of the Ministry of Health in a ceremony held earlier in the day.

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Malaysian AIDS Council

The Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) was established in 1992 to serve as an umbrella organisation to support and coordinate the efforts of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working on HIV/AIDS issues in Malaysia. MAC works in close partnership with government agencies, the private sector and international organisations, to ensure a committed and effective NGO-led response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.  In addition to providing nationwide coverage of HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services, MAC and its Partner Organisations serve as the common voice for communities most affected by HIV/AIDS in the country. Learn more at www.mac.org.my.

Contact

Media & Communications Department, Malaysian AIDS Council

Zaki Arzmi                 │+6016 292 2948   │ [email protected]

Kalsum Jamian       │+6012 919 0865   │ [email protected]