INTERVIEW As newly-appointed Selangor exco member in charge of local councils, Teng Chang Khim has his plate full in dealing with complaints over everything from garbage collection to alleged rise in vice activities in Pakatan Rakyat's crown jewel.
The alleged mushrooming of massage parlours in Selangor is a political hot potato that had also dogged his predecessor, Ronnie Liu.
Faced with an issue that has provided the BN with ammunition for the past five years, Teng is thinking of a softer, but perhaps more controversial approach - gender segregation.
While the idea is still at “brainstorming” stage, Teng told Malaysiakini that restricting masseurs to male customers - and vice-versa - could curb the issue of such parlours fronting as brothels.
By doing so, the state government could deal with the issue without penalising genuine customers, as massage is part of the Asian tradition in healing.
“I have this idea...to have (single-sex) massage parlours only. (If) you apply for massage centres for males, the whole place will be zoned as a male zone. No females are allowed, not even as a cleaner,” he said, of an idea casually discussed with several local council chairpersons recently.
Teng said additional guidelines could be included, for example, allowing service and maintenance crew of the opposite sex to attend to work outside the parlour operating hours.
“And you cannot have two (massage parlours) in the same row of shops, because you know (the operators) are very smart and can include a door in between,” he said.
Asked if this idea, reminiscent of the regulation on hairdressers in Kota Bharu, may be similarly attacked by the MCA, he said: “Then they can ask Umno about it.”
However, he stressed that this was just an idea and not a priority for the state government to study at the moment.
In the absence of new policy on the matter, local councils could go ahead and raid such premises as deemed fit, especially if these operate illegally,Teng said.
This is likely the case for the alleged mushrooming of massage parlours, he said, as the as the Pakatan government of Selangor had not, during its first term, issued a single licence for such parlours.
Claims that it had done so were just “political propaganda”, he said, although licences have been issued for foot reflexology centres.
Electric batons?
While the massage parlour policy is not a priority area, enforcement of by-laws at “entertainment hubs” - comprising pub/massage parlour/karaoke outlets - does seem to be high on the agenda.
On May 30, his second day on the job, Teng joined the Klang City Council enforcement team in a scheduled inspection and came up with another idea which he is viewing more seriously.
“I went together with the enforement officers to see how they conduct inspections. So they went to a pub - the pub is big - and they went to (the) karaoke (place) - the place is huge - and there are so many corridors everywhere. I did not feel safe at all,” he said.
While the inspection went well, he felt the enforcement team was exposed to potential threats by “gangsters” who could have overpowered the two police personnel who accompanied the team for security purposes.
The alleged mushrooming of massage parlours in Selangor is a political hot potato that had also dogged his predecessor, Ronnie Liu.
Faced with an issue that has provided the BN with ammunition for the past five years, Teng is thinking of a softer, but perhaps more controversial approach - gender segregation.
While the idea is still at “brainstorming” stage, Teng told Malaysiakini that restricting masseurs to male customers - and vice-versa - could curb the issue of such parlours fronting as brothels.By doing so, the state government could deal with the issue without penalising genuine customers, as massage is part of the Asian tradition in healing.
“I have this idea...to have (single-sex) massage parlours only. (If) you apply for massage centres for males, the whole place will be zoned as a male zone. No females are allowed, not even as a cleaner,” he said, of an idea casually discussed with several local council chairpersons recently.
Teng said additional guidelines could be included, for example, allowing service and maintenance crew of the opposite sex to attend to work outside the parlour operating hours.
“And you cannot have two (massage parlours) in the same row of shops, because you know (the operators) are very smart and can include a door in between,” he said.
Asked if this idea, reminiscent of the regulation on hairdressers in Kota Bharu, may be similarly attacked by the MCA, he said: “Then they can ask Umno about it.”However, he stressed that this was just an idea and not a priority for the state government to study at the moment.
In the absence of new policy on the matter, local councils could go ahead and raid such premises as deemed fit, especially if these operate illegally,Teng said.
This is likely the case for the alleged mushrooming of massage parlours, he said, as the as the Pakatan government of Selangor had not, during its first term, issued a single licence for such parlours.
Claims that it had done so were just “political propaganda”, he said, although licences have been issued for foot reflexology centres.
Electric batons?
While the massage parlour policy is not a priority area, enforcement of by-laws at “entertainment hubs” - comprising pub/massage parlour/karaoke outlets - does seem to be high on the agenda.
On May 30, his second day on the job, Teng joined the Klang City Council enforcement team in a scheduled inspection and came up with another idea which he is viewing more seriously.
“I went together with the enforement officers to see how they conduct inspections. So they went to a pub - the pub is big - and they went to (the) karaoke (place) - the place is huge - and there are so many corridors everywhere. I did not feel safe at all,” he said. While the inspection went well, he felt the enforcement team was exposed to potential threats by “gangsters” who could have overpowered the two police personnel who accompanied the team for security purposes.
Coincidentally, the owner of the business was in the midst of re-applying for a licence, following a murder on the premises.
“You see, this was not a raid. If it was a raid it would be more dangerous. It was a pre-arranged inspection and even then I felt it was not safe,” Teng noted.
“So I did some research. Equipping (the enforcement team) with firearms is not acceptable, but what other device can we provide them? The electric baton?
“Of course, there are some worries, based on the experience overseas, but so far nothing serious has happened,” he said, of the device that is similar to a taser.
“So I did some research. Equipping (the enforcement team) with firearms is not acceptable, but what other device can we provide them? The electric baton?
“Of course, there are some worries, based on the experience overseas, but so far nothing serious has happened,” he said, of the device that is similar to a taser.
Standard operating procedures could be put in place as safeguards against abuse, like limiting the number of batons per team and specifying who is allowed to carry one.
“This is an idea and is subject to discussion. (The enforcement team) may not complain (about safety) as they are used to it... but as a leader, I must understand things,” Teng added. - Malaysiakini
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