Cheap medicines encourages transvestism

The availability of cheap hormone pills is said to be among the factors that encourages transvestism as well as competition among them.

A former transvestite, Mohd Khariri Ramli, 36, or fondly known as "Erin", said hormone pills, like Marvelon and Mercilon, commonly used by tranvestites for breast enlargement, cost only between RM9 and RM10 and could be bought at the pharmacies.

"Besides that, injection for collagen, hormones, vitamin C and B and implant which has a faster effect can also be easily obtained for as low as RM20. and much cheaper if you are a regular," he said when met by reporters at a forum for former transvestites at the Universiti Sains Malaysia campus here on Thursday.

He suggested the relevant authorities to regulate sale of such medication to avoid them from being used for unhealthy activities.

Mohd Khariri, a teacher in Klang, Selangor, said he was a transvestite for 17 years, during which thousands of ringgit was spent, including for cosmetic surgeries, to make him look "beautiful" before he realised his mistakes and returned to the right path.

It was then that he decided to remove all the implants and collagen in his body.

"The pain was excruciating. Only God knows, but I took it as a punishment which I have to bear for changing His creation," he added.

He is now active in programmes to instill awareness among students in schools and institutions of higher learning on the dangers of transgender.