PETALING JAYA - A group of women NGOs is outraged over the rising number of massage parlours in Selangor, saying these vice dens have caused much heartbreak to many families.
“Many families have been affected by the mushrooming of these massage centres.
“Money that is meant for the family is spent on unnecessary activities,” beautician and Malaysian Beauty Therapy Association president Datin Clara Chee said.
Teenagers, she said, were also being lured to such places.
“Family values are affected and this is bad for the moral fibre of society,” she said yesterday.
Chee was joined by representatives from the Federation of Kwang Tung Associations (Women Section), Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Hua Zong), the Malaysian Chinese Women Entrepreneurs Foundation, Malaysia Hindu Sangam and several other groups.
The Federation of Kwang Tung Associations (Women Section), which was represented by Chong Moi Heong, said it was high time the state government drew the line and regulate the licence holders and clamp down on illegal operators.
“If this does not happen, it may lead to serious social problems,” she said.
Last month, The Star exclusively reported that massage centres and reflexology outlets were just a front for masseuses who offered sexual favours for between RM50 and RM150.
These vice dens can be found throughout Selangor.
The Selangor Government has denied issuing new licences since 2008.
However, many operators of these places had set up business complete with signboards to advertise their supposedly legitimate services.
State Local Government Committee chairman Ronnie Liu said only 60 massage and foot reflexology centres in Selangor had been issued licences, with most of them in Ampang Jaya.
However, Wanita MCA secretary-general Senator Chew Lee Giok claimed last week that there were about 220 massage centres in Petaling Jaya alone.
