About Us

People

Significantly high HIV burden among young people in Malaysia

Malaysia has one of the highest HIV prevalence among young key populations in the Asia-Pacific region. From 2014 to 2017, the HIV prevalence in young men who had sex with men tripled, marking the highest in the region. Less than half of young key populations know their HIV status and receive treatment. HIV prevention programs do not reach young key populations, with at best 36% of young men who have sex with men, and young people who inject drugs who remain underserved. This clarion call suggests that Malaysia’s HIV response has not prioritised specific needs of young people, despite the overwhelming evidence that HIV disproportionately affects young people.

Young people in Malaysia have low comprehensive HIV, sexuality, and reproductive health knowledge.

A national survey by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry revealed that up to 88% of adolescents (age 13-18) were sexually active.

Our decisions

We are a community of young leaders

We decided that we are a mission base and not a museum.

We decided that diversity, equity and inclusion are values we demand for in every space, especially people who have been historically underrepresented and underserved – anything less does not work for us.

We decided that as young people and life-long learners, we must commit to continuously developing out-of-the-box thinking and improving our skill sets. Stagnancy is a breeding ground for incompetence and irrelevance.

We decided that leadership without character is futile and that actions speak louder than words. To hone our leadership, we are willing to be accountable to each other.

We decided that we have the privilege to raise and support other young leaders and community-based organisations. Operating in silos or rivalry with each other is poor leadership and short of what we are called for.

We are a community that demands for a better future

We decided that centering young people with and affected by HIV without their full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making spaces is absurd.

We decided that having meetings about improving the HIV response without young people with the lived experience is pointless and a waste of time.

We decided that people will always be before profit and prestige. Prioritising profits and prestige over people is distasteful and has no place in the HIV response.

We decided that structural sanctions and harsh penalties of individuals affected by HIV, including young people with sexual and gender diversities, young people who use drugs and young sex workers are not only archaic but also driving people underground, depriving individuals of life-saving resources.

We decided that saying ‘let communities lead’ and listening to young people with lived experience without the accompanying and timely actions to make changes is equivalent to hypocrisy.

We decided that withholding access, including mandating guardianship consent to HIV testing, treatment and prevention from young people is paternalistic and a clear violation of human rights.

We decided that change without transformation is intolerable and that staying where we are is not an option.

We decided that depriving young people the opportunity to make independent decisions pertaining to their health, bodies and well-being is disempowering.

We decided that harm reduction saves lives. Resisting harm reduction initiatives is a dangerous derailment from the science.

We decided that tokenistic initiatives that appear to engage with people with lived experience, especially young key populations to prevent criticism or to give an impression that individuals with lived experience are more involved than they truly are, are deceitful and manipulative

Our History

In 2022, in the inauguration of the International AIDS Society Youth Hub Seed Grant, four awardees from Malaysia, Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya pioneered their innovation projects. Dr Norman Chong, who was one of the awardees, started We Ask the Y, a capacity building initiative that empowers young people to ask the right questions and become high-impact project designers for the HIV response for young people.

We Ask the Y thus far has trained 50 vibrant and diverse young leaders and provided seed funding to a team of young leaders who were trained by the team. We Ask the Y continues to push the envelope in improving the HIV response for young people.