Exercise 1: Research_Jolene Tan 0138684

Q: What is the name of the NGO you have selected?

A: The Pink Triangle Foundation.

 

Q: What is the Pink Triangle Foundation?

A: The Pink Triangle Foundation (PT Foundation) is a community-based, voluntary non-profit organisation dedicated to helping prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and enhancing the lives of those living with the disease (PT Foundation, 2012).

 

Q: What services does the foundation provide?

A: Their services include telephone and face-to-face counselling, anonymous HIV and STI screening, outreach programmes, and support for key affected populations (“PT Foundation,” 2024). They also manage the CHCC, a community-based clinic that provides STI and HIV testing, treatment and prevention, and counselling, as well as general health screenings.

 

Q: Who leads the foundation?

A: The founder and chairman of the foundation is Hisham Hussein, honorary secretary for the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) for over two decades (Edwards, 2018), as well as former president for MAC from 2022 until 2024 (CodeBlue, 2022).

 

Q: Who else oversees the foundation?

A: Raymond Tai, acting chief operating officer and marketing and communications director.

 

Q: When was the foundation formed?

A: The PT Foundation was formed in 1987, originally known as Pink Triangle Malaysia (Tan, 2008).

 

Q: How did the foundation start out?

A: The foundation was originally a telephone counselling service regarding HIV/AIDS and sexuality issues for gay men in Malaysia (Tan, 2008). It has since evolved to provide support and care services to other vulnerable communities, including the transgender community, commercial sex workers, drug users and people living with HIV (PLHIV).

 

Q: What drove the foundation to action?

A: The lack of support for people of the LGBT community in Malaysia, especially during early cases of HIV in the country.

 

Q: What were some challenges that the foundation has faced in the past?

A: The foundation nearly had to shut down after 2005 due to lack of funding but was able to receive financial aid from organisations such as the Ministry of Women, Family & Community Development and the Malaysian AIDS Council (Tan, 2008). The foundation has also been said to have their funding cut off by the government for associating with the LGBT community (Tan, 2008).

 

Q: What is the core cause of the foundation?

A: To provide support to communities majorly affected by HIV/AIDS in Malaysia.

 

Q: Which SDG(s) does the foundation stand for?

A: Goal 3 – Good Health & Wellbeing; Goal 4 – Quality Education; Goal 10 – Reduced Inequalities (MAD for Good, 2022).

 

Q: What is the foundation's mission?

A: They concentrate on working with communities that are challenging to reach due to societal discrimination (Hati Malaysia, n.d.). They also address the needs of children and adolescents affected by HIV.

 

Q: What is the foundation’s vision?

A: To be the leading community-based organization in Malaysia working with key affected populations on HIV and AIDS, gender identity and sexual health (Hati Malaysia, n.d.).

 

Q: What are some of the foundation's strengths?

A: They are the largest community-based HIV/AIDS organisation in Malaysia and has benefitted over 100,000 people (Embassy of Finland, 2013).

 

Q: What are some of the foundation's weaknesses?

A: Strict guidelines on fund utilisation as well as limited reach, having only 2 centres both located in Kuala Lumpur.

 

Q: What opportunities has the foundation been given?

A: The PT Foundation has affiliations with organisations such as the Malaysian AIDS Council, Ministry of Health and ViiV Healthcare.  They have also received funding from the Finnish Embassy in the past.

 

Q: What are some threats that the foundation faces?

A: Lack of education regarding HIV/AIDS. This results in the spreading of social stigmas surrounding HIV/AIDS and people with it, as well as the discrimination that follows.

 

Q: What type of events has the foundation held?

A: The foundation has held multiple free HIV and STI tests over the years in various locations within Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. They have also held support group sessions for people living with HIV.

 

Q: What programmes are run by the foundation?

A: Currently, the foundation runs the Community Health Care Centre (CHCC), the Treatment Adherence and Support Programme for gay men who are living with HIV (MSMPOZ), a psycho-social mentoring and support programme for urban poor children infected or affected by HIV (2nd Chance programme), and an internet outreach programme promoting testing among gay men (I-Power). (Edwards, 2018)

 

Q: How can people show support to the foundation?

A: Support to the foundation can be shown by volunteering or donating, either to the foundation itself or to one of their many programmes.

 

Summary: The PT Foundation is a non-profit organisation specialising in STI healthcare. Nearing 4 decades of service, the foundation has helped hundreds of thousands of people in Malaysia from all walks of life, including those of the LGBTQ+ community. Personally, I feel that the existence of queer-friendly safe spaces – especially those in the medical field such as the PT Foundation – are very important to have in Malaysia and I hope that they will continue to exist for many more years to come.

 

References:

CodeBlue (2022, May 30) Hisham Hussein Elected Malaysian AIDS Council President. https://codeblue.galencentre.org/2022/05/hisham-hussein-elected-malaysian-aids-council-president/

Edwards, A. (2018, August 4). Three decades on, PT Foundation continues HIV/AIDS outreach work. Malay Mail. https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2018/08/04/three-decades-on-pt-foundation-continues-hiv-aids-outreach-work/1659007

Edwards, A. (2018, December 18). MAF patron’s award winner Hisham Hussein pushes on with HIV prevention work. Malay Mail. https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2018/12/17/maf-patrons-award-winner-hisham-hussein-pushes-on-in-hiv-prevention-work/1703705

Embassy of Finland.  (2013, August 27). Finnish Embassy funding for PT Foundation.  https://web.archive.org/web/20180529203355/http://www.finland.org.my/Public/default.aspx?contentid=282406&nodeid=46679&contentlan=2&culture=en-US

Hati Malaysia. (n.d.). PT Foundation. https://www.hati.my/pt-foundation/

MAD for Good. (2022). PT Foundation. https://platform.madforgood.org/o/PT-Foundation

NGS Movement. (2012, April 24). PT Foundation – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. http://ngsmovement.org/2012/04/24/pt-foundation-malaysia/

Ooi, T.C. (2020, January 3). Removing stigma allows those living with HIV, AIDS to seek and stay on treatment, says NGO. New Straits Times. https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/01/553109/removing-stigma-allows-those-living-hiv-aids-seek-and-stay-treatment-says

PT Foundation (2024, December 22). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PT_Foundation

Tan, S. (2008, November 27). Malaysia’s PT Foundation turns 21. Fridae. https://www.fridae.asia/gay-news/2008/11/27/2162.malaysias-pt-foundation-turns-21