The oldest profession...

...is as old as mankind. And it's also thriving in our country. I was highly amused and a little wowed by how much income can be generated by the 'high class' call girls.... anywhere from RM36K - RM45K monthly... and they are all tax free! No wonder it's so lucrative. But it also highlights a problem that plagues our societies.... morals are loosening. And with it, a whole floodgate of problems of other problems, sexually transmitted disease, breaking of the social fabric, human trafficking, modern day slavery, abuse... the list is endless. Not forgetting how debasing it is to women.

And in Malaysia, this is a growing sector... as can be seen in the article in The NST. It is a multi-billion industry... all underground!!

In Alor Setar, we too have our own 'brothels'. One day my two young friends brought me to Lorong Merpati to see what they labelled as 'The Service Centre' in action. There were a few makeshift brothels. The authorities tore down some of the dilapidated structures there last year but these 'brothels' grew again. Simple reason... there is a demand and for those who offered their services, it's income. It was only mid morning when I drove past but already there customers making a beeline for their turns. Dishevelled and unkempt.. these are people from the lower income group. I went again one of the other days in the evening... the crowd was still there.

For the young misguided ones... it's easy to fall into the flesh trade. Easy money and their search for perceived affection attract, etc... It's also a long list.

So, how come it is thriving? Is there any way of returning the dignity to the women? I used to think that trying to curb prostitution is a lost cause. That was until I read about Sweden. Sweden is one of the countries who have been able to reduce the flesh trade... And the way they went about it was quite different. One of the changes they instituted was to make it a crime to buy sex. Also, they decriminalize the selling of sex cos they consider buying sex a form of male violence against women and children.

Now in Malaysia... will we ever adopt such an approach? Will we drop the male chauvinist outlook and start to look at things from another perspective? You see, over here... we are ever so quick to point finger at the women and say that the fault is theirs and therefore they should be made to bear the consequences. It's like those narrow minded flers who say that rape happens because it was the women's fault... their dressing, the way they walk... the men are faultless. It's a man's world, huh? So, in the meantime, the flesh trade will continue...