Despite government subsidized AIDS treatment, most Malaysians with HIV are wary of seeking medication because they fear being stigmatized in the conservative Muslim country, New Straights Times reported today.

Of the 65,000 documented HIV-positive Malaysians, only about 1,785 -- fewer than 5 percent -- received treatment at government hospitals, according to the 2003 National HIV/AIDS Treatment Registry. "People are afraid of the stigma," said Christopher Lee, Kuala Lumpur Hospital's senior specialist consultant for infectious diseases. Another 200 patients received treatment at private medical centers, Lee said.

With the introduction of generic AIDS drugs produced in India, treatment has become cheaper, said Lee. A month's supply of cocktail therapy costs a patient 220 ringit ($62 US).

The UN last year estimated 81,000 people were infected in Malaysia and that its epidemic had spread from high-risk groups to the general population. The UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Asia, Nafis Sadik, asked Malaysia to acknowledge its epidemic and help remove stigma related to HIV/AIDS.

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