By global standards, Malaysia has not been greatly affected by the scourge of AIDS. Only 27 of its 18 million people have died of the disease since 1986, and fewer than 1,400 are known to be infected with the virus. But according to Health Minister Lee Kim Sai, the number of AIDS cases has more than doubled since last December and Kuala Lumpur is now weighing strong measures to block the further spread of the disease.

Infected individuals, for instance, would be obliged to carry special identification cards. The press would be permitted to publish the names of patients. People convicted of bringing AIDS-afflicted prostitutes into the country would be given beatings and long prison terms. Harshest of all, the government proposes building a detention camp similar to a leper colony for those with AIDS. If that should happen, health officials believe, Malaysia would become one of the few nations in the world to try fighting the disease by detaining its victims.