Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor said the medicine, called pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), should be limited to those in a physical relationship with people living with HIV, such as a wife of a drug addict.

Wan Salim said dispensing PrEP to the LGBT community was akin to encouraging such behaviour; it could “also further promote such deviant lifestyles”, he told FMT.

His stance is similar to that of the Selangor mufti department and came from a religious understanding on how Islam viewed homosexuality.

However, he said: “I have no authority to force my views on others” as life in a democratic country meant that people were free to accept or reject his views.

Wan Salim’s comments come in response to the head of a health think tank who had criticised the Selangor mufti department for issuing a “misinformed” advisory which it said was likely to mislead the public.

The health ministry had announced last month that it was looking into making PrEP available for free at selected public health clinics in states with high HIV prevalence.