KUALA LUMPUR: Anger is rising among women in Malaysia and Southeast Asia after a new “contract lovers” service was launched here that is reportedly seeing more Vietnamese women trafficked to serve male clients. According to Metro Ahad, men can now hire women for a week to a month as a means of “satisfying their lust.” According to the report, men pay a minimum of RM400 per day, or RM6,000 for a week of “service.” The report also suggested that Vietnam women are the top choice among Malaysian men. For social worker Melinda Yates, who has worked with former sex workers across Southeast Asia, the new service is “scary.” “It will undoubtedly make it even more difficult to track sex workers in the region because the companies are saying they are not offering sex to clients, even though we know this is false,” she told Bikyamasr.com in Kuala Lumpur. For Vietnamese women, it will undoubtedly result in the rise of them being forced into sex work by agents, she said. Metro Ahad reported that one source said that “many men chose this package as the woman involved was not merely a partner in bed, but also an instant girlfriend. “There are some who merely want to show off that they have a beautiful girlfriend. Basically, they can do anything as long as not get married,” he said. He added such “love packages” were popular in Vietnam and had spread to Malaysia. An August report published in Malaysia said that Vietnamese sex workers are the most used by clients in the country. The report, published by Kosmo! said that Malaysia men prefer Vietnamese women's “alluring physique and better hospitality." Kosmo! also reported that Malaysian men would also prefer Chinese sex workers, but said that the “choosy" nature of women from China has seen more and more head to Vietnamese sex workers instead. It added that Vietnamese sex workers were found “to be less choosy, so long as their clients were willing to pay between RM100 (S$40) and RM200." “Vietnamese prostitutes come here under the pretense of studying in fields such as beauty and tourism," said Bukit Aman anti-vice, gambling and secret societies division head SAC Abdul Jalil Hassan. According to him, there were even those who entered the country on their own and would find clients in reflexology centers and massage parlors. Now with the new service being offered, it could threaten more women from Vietnam.
