THERE are many sorry elements to the latest controversy surrounding the AIDS Foundation, not least of which is chairwoman Mrs Peggy Lam Pei Yu-dja's attempt to brush off the criticism by suggesting it is racist in origin (''all these criticisms come from Europeans, not Chinese'' - Sunday Morning Post, April 4). People are not ''picking on Mrs Lam'', they are asking - justifiably - for an account of a major blunder from an appointed official. AIDS recognises no boundaries of race, gender or religion. Until we - the public and the agencies dedicated to fighting AIDS - adopt a similarly single-minded approach, how can we mount an effective attack? FRANCES BARTLETT Happy Valley