Published on: Monday, December 21, 2009 |
Kota Kinabalu: The increasing influx of Filipinas into Sabah to work as masseuses, foot reflexologists, shampoo girls, pub guest relations officers (GROs) and drink hostesses but double up as call girls is worrying local women activists.
These foreign women, with or without work passes, are not only causing marriage break-ups but also leaving a trail of social problems.
It was reliably learnt that many businessmen and professionals have walked out of their matrimonial homes to live with Filipina mistresses, bought or rented houses for them.
Some of them are driving in posh cars but not registered in their names in case they (women) leave their lovers, sources said.
Young Filipinas can even be seen openly distributing leaflets on their foot reflexology services to passers-by at a shopping complex in the city.
"Shirley" (not her real name) related how her suspicion was aroused when she saw a particular number recurring in her husband's handphone.
"I confronted my husband but he denied and tried to cover up. So I made inquiries and eventually traced the number to a massage parlour. I wanted to meet the caller but she had gone into hiding," she said. Her case is just the tip of the iceberg.
Prominent social activist Anne Keyworth claimed that many of these women are "freelancing prostitutes" operating in many parts of the city and its outskirts.
"It is public knowledge that their 'love nests' are at Beverly Hills and Api Api Centre, among others. The situation is getting from bad to worse. I believe some of them are under the bondage of human trafficking.
"I have seen with my own eyes how Filipinas were being ferried in taxis from their place of stay outside the city to serve clients in leading hotels.
It is happening in hotels although they may deny it," she told Daily Express.
According to Keyworth, fondly called Mama Anne, she had provided crucial information to the proper authorities on the pimps' operations involving Filipinas.
"But I doubt whether their premises had been raided. I was even warned not to go to such places for my personal safety."
Mama Anne also insisted that Filipino women, regardless of whether they are married to locals, should not be allowed to run passport application agencies.
Of course, the immoral activity of foreign women in Sabah is an old issue but has taken on a thorny dimension in recent years.
A sizeable number of Chinese men married to local women, or otherwise, have fathered children with Filipino women, only to be abandoned after some years. Some have returned to the Philippines while others cannot be traced.
A political leader, who declined to be named, said affected fathers' biggest 'headache' was having to apply for Malaysian citizenship for children now in their teens, whose present status is 'non-citizen' despite being born in Sabah.
"Only then can the children apply for MyKads. In one case, a Chinese father was forced to adopt his own child (whose mother is a Filipina but has run away) as one way of getting citizenship status for the child," she pointed out.
Meanwhile, a group of NGO members alleged that many of the massage parlours were merely fronts for vice.
"The enforcement authorities must be on the alert. For these foreign women, especially Filipinas, it is a three-in-one thing: massage, sex and money. Men go for massage and beyond that," they claimed.
On why men patronise these outlets, they said it all boils down to attitude.
"Some of them seek fun. Others want to try out new things. Many of them are influenced by friends or colleagues who had been to those parlours and said how good their experience was.
"We think it depends on the individual, how strong his religious faith is.
Still, there is no guarantee that he will not fall prey to temptation," the NGO members pointed out.
