On the Beat | By Wong Chun Wai

Sex city claim can hurt KL

Bukit Bintang is known to have the best shopping malls, restaurants, hotels and entertainment spots.  

But has anyone seen Malaysian women in bikinis pole dancing on bar tops or touts inviting foreigners to tiger shows?  

According to Mohd Said, his Arab friends told him that the sex activities made Malaysia "better than Thailand".  

Mohd Said is known as the "close one eye" MP for his controversial
remark to Customs officials to overlook a consignment belonging to his
company's client that was seized for exceeding the size limit.  

He had also accused certain Customs officials of selling confiscated
luxury cars cheaply to their friends in the palace. He could not
produce any evidence to back his allegations.  

Mohd Said should have personally investigated what his Arab friends had
told him and if he could not do it personally, he should have submitted
the information to the authorities.  

To make these allegations, just when Malaysia is about launch Visit Malaysia Year 2007 is damaging, to say the least.  

We like to be known as a destination for family holidays and one where
wives have no reason to worry when their husbands are here on business
trips.  

Most wives know there are very few options for their husbands when they
come to Kuala Lumpur, but not so in Bangkok, Manila, Phnom Penh,
Singapore or even Jakarta.  

Tourism Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor has correctly rebutted Mohd
Said, saying that Malaysians and not foreigners are confused as to how
Malaysia was being promoted overseas.  

Correction Tengku, it is Mohd Said who is confused and not Malaysians.
The rest of us are proud of the commercials being aired to promote
Malaysia ahead of the big event because we understand the economic
impact.  

We are ready to put on our best smiles and to extend our famed
hospitality to the millions of tourists coming our way because they
like the seas, the forests, the multi-culturalism and the food.  

These tourists know what to expect of Malaysia when they planned their
holidays and if racy adult entertainment is their choice, it is
unlikely that they will pick KL.  

Sure, there are nightclubs, and if foreigners look hard enough, there
would be sex workers but surely not on the scale of other sex cities.  

And if there are local women who like foreigners at bars and pubs, who
can stop them if they want to go further! It's nobody's business.  

Let's not mistake the foot massage outlets along Bukit Bintang for tired shoppers, because these are clean places.  

Bukit Bintang MCA chief Senator Datuk Dr Lee Chong Meng has good
reasons to be upset and to feel insulted by Mohd Said's remarks. He
should know his territory better.  

As Tengku Mansor, the Federal Territory Umno chief said: "We cannot go
around branding everything which resembles entertainment as sinful and
illicit."  

The trouble with many politicians is that while they are quick to
criticise what they perceive to be sinful, the same decibel is not
heard when it comes to corruption.  

Corruption is a sin and surely we should hear more politicians back
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in his fight against graft.  

Not only are many of our politicians not on the forefront, but they
also seem to shy away from talking about accountability and
credibility.  

Many, including those seemingly religious in their diet and dressing,
appear to be selective when it comes to their pick of sins. Somehow,
corruption, abuse of power and women do not affect their religious
practices, regardless of their spiritual belief.  

The authorities should also call on Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
lecturer Zawawi Muhammad Lukman to back his claim in a survey of 4,000
people, that minors between the ages of nine and 18 were involved in
vice.  

This is a serious allegation. He also said he came across a mother who
asked her 11-year-old daughter to have sex with her boyfriend.  

The police must find out whether this is a case of sexual abuse, rape
or prostitution because providing sex for money is something different
all together.  

We hope the newspaper has quoted the researcher wrongly, and
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan has correctly said the
police would probe the matter.  

Again it is an issue that has tarnished the image of Malaysia. For many
people, including those involved in non-governmental organisations,
they can only express disbelief.  

People in position, politicians or otherwise, must realise that they
cannot simply make general statements which can bring negative
implications.  

This damage is irreversible.  

The bottom line is let's open our eyes when we see something that we know must be brought to the notice of the authorities.