I had a friend who died of Aids. He was homosexual. And yes, there are many others on this planet who are homosexuals or bisexuals.

In spite of the long standing fact that homosexuality is only another orientation, it is truly shameful to note that many, Malaysians included, have no qualms condemning homosexuals for this.

Ignorance in this case is certainly no bliss and this was precisely what the country's highest selling English daily The Star did when it decided to "educate" the public on what makes a homosexual and the hows and whys to overcome it.

The newspaper carried a four-page story of a former gay man Edmund Smith now 'rehabilitated' and who was preaching the joy and bliss of being a heterosexual. No where throughout the articles was there any psycological or psychiatrist view included to explain what homosexuality really is.