PETALING JAYA, Dec 12 — There are some things which actor Fahrin Ahmad keeps close to his heart.
Among them are his family, friends, fans and a cause which he has been campaigning for over the past 10 years.
That cause is to raise awareness and put an end to the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS in Malaysia.
His journey as a Red Ribbon Celebrity Supporter began in mid-2008 when the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) asked him whether he would be able to take on the role.
He did not hesitate although he knew very little about the topic.
“I still remember the day MAC approached me and explained to me how I could increase awareness on this illness as a celebrity.
“Looking back at all these years, I am certain it has changed me a lot. It has made me a more non-judgmental person and try to always understand an issue before attaching a particular view to it,” said the 39-year-old.
He is set to co-emcee the Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Award Gala Dinner 2018 with another Red Ribbon Celebrity Supporter, Deborah Henry.
The gala night, set for Dec 16 will be hosted at Hilton Kuala Lumpur.
Fahrin, like some Malaysians, had a negative view of the disease due to the lack of knowledge on the subject.
“Working together with MAC for over a decade has taught me that there’s always more to life.
“In my first year, I remember going through a crash course and every time I learned something new, it always contradicted what I thought HIV was all about.”
In fact, the actor admitted even some of his drama scripts contained scenes which portrayed HIV wrongly.
“I thought that (in the script) was the truth,” he told Malay Mail during an interview.
A deciding factor to him agreeing to take on the role was seeing how passionate the people at MAC were.
“I really appreciated how they ran the charity work and their organisation.
“They did not just want to educate us (Red Ribbon Celebrity Supporters) but equipped us with how to educate the public and promote awareness nationwide.
“It’s been an honour to be part of them,” he said.
He was also given some “tests”, one of which was how he would react if a HIV-positive person shook his hand.
“I passed most of the ‘tests’ but I believe some Malaysians still have this idea that we cannot share a public space with someone who has HIV.
“We can share drinks and food with them, or even hug them. The first five years were very beneficial for me and Malaysians should stop categorising people in order to move on as a stronger country,” Fahrin said.
The Johorean said that HIV awareness has increased over the past decade as more Malaysians are beginning to understand the illness as a whole.
“Over the years, Malaysians have learned to accept them and I believe education and understanding on this topic have increased tremendously.
“We (Malaysians) are often quick to judge people and choose to read negative news. There are several innocent parties involved when just pushing aside HIV-affected and infected people but thankfully this has changed and Malaysians are more understanding than they used to be in 2008.”
Speaking on the Red Ribbon Celebrity Supporters, Fahrin called out to celebrities and social media influencers to join him in this battle to end the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS.
“As celebrities, we should play our part towards forming a better nation.
“I’d love to see celebrities come aboard and help, also not forgetting the social media influencers who play a key role in our society… we can play a big part,” he said.
Many celebrities have been part of the Red Ribbon Celebrity Supporters over the years.
They include Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza, Datuk Aaron Aziz, Bob Yusof, Dayang Nurfaizah and Joey G.
Malay Mail is the media partner for the event.
* Only gold tables (RM20,000) are still available. For more information, please contact Nurshaliza Manaf at [email protected] or 014-504 8927 or Azahemy Abdullah at [email protected] or 016-646 5874.
