KUALA LUMPUR: In 2018, Jamaliah Samaliah voluntarily took an HIV test, two years after the death of her first ex-husband.
According to Mingguan Malaysia, the 58-year-old woman from Kapar in Klang took the screening due to concerns about risk factors after her first ex-husband's involvement in drug abuse.
Her world changed after the result showed she tested positive for HIV.
Although Jamaliah was initially enveloped in doubts, sadness, and disappointment, she persevered and refused to give up for the sake of her children.
To Jamaliah, living with HIV is not the end of the road, provided that one seeks the necessary treatment and takes medication regularly according to prescriptions from doctors.
"I thought death was near when I tested positive at the age of 32.
"However, I am grateful that am able to continue living with my husband, four children, their spouses, and my five grandchildren," said Jamaliah who has remarried for the third time to a 59-year-old man.
Apart from her husband, her third child is also living with HIV since born in 2000.
Over the last 30 years, Jamaliah has been taking her HIV medication regularly, which has helped her achieve an undetectable viral load and a CD4 cell count above 400.
"People will not have any idea that I am positive (living with HIV) as I look healthy like everyone else on the outside.
"The difference is that, at the moment, there is no cure for the rest of my life," she said.
Jamaliah, who is now spending most of her time towards voluntary work to promote awareness and educate the public on HIV remembered the time when her son was not allowed to be enrolled in a kindergarten in 2006.
Her son was six at the time and also living with HIV.
"I remember when I wanted to register my son at a kindergarten. I informed the teacher there about the health condition of both me and my son because I wanted to be honest and transparent.
"Instead, the teacher gathered all the villagers to prevent my son from enrolling in the kindergarten.
"I did not give in to their demands. I went up and down to the Selangor Education Office to fight for my case.
"I even invited doctors to come to the village to educate the people about our condition and to explain that this virus cannot be transmitted easily," she said, adding that this episode was the biggest stigma and discrimination she had faced as a person living with HIV.
Jamaliah, however, was relieved that her son, who is now 24, has never been sidelined and discriminated against by his friends and society.
Apart from side businesses, Jamaliah and her husband also founded Rumah Teduhan Harapan, which has been operating since 10 years ago.
The place, she said, provides shelter to people who have mostly been shunned by their families.
"Although the place is not luxurious, it provides shelter to those who need it," she said, adding that the premises now house 12 people.
Jamaliah also advised those suspected of having HIV to come forward, seek necessary treatment, and allow themselves to start a new chapter in life.