Part One
By Muhammad Basir Roslan
The sugar baby-sugar daddy issue was thrust into the limelight early last month following media reports that Malaysia held the dubious distinction of having the third-highest number of sugar daddies in Asia. Two ex-sugar babies share their stories in this first of four articles on this issue.
KUALA LUMPUR: As a sugar baby, or social escort as she preferred to call it, Ika (not her real name) took home up to RM10,000 a month — an amount an undergraduate like her could never dream of earning from regular employment.
However, following an uncomfortable incident one night, she decided to quit the part-time “job” she had held for two years.
“It happened in 2017… my sugar daddy tried to molest me and I found it totally repulsive. I shivered with fright… only God knows how I felt. I was ill for two weeks after that,” said Ika, 23, recalling the night when she resolved to put a stop to her unsavoury lifestyle.
“I decided to give it up because I realised, I was on the wrong path and I would get nothing out of selling my honour to people I don’t even know just to get some extra cash and luxuries.”
Ika said when she left her hometown in Perak to pursue a course in a private college in the Klang Valley, she had to take part-time jobs to pay her fees as her mother, who was the sole breadwinner, had to support her younger siblings who were still in school.
It was in the second year of her studies that Ika was introduced to the world of social escorts and sugar babies.
Lucrative income
“In the beginning, I was paid to escort men who belonged to the elite and rich category, then later I became a sugar baby,” she told Bernama, adding that she received a “lucrative” amount of money for her services every month.
Among the first few luxury items she treated herself to were a laptop costing RM4,000 and two smartphones.
“To be honest, money (to pursue a luxury lifestyle) was not the main motivating factor that drew me to this industry… I just wanted to ease my mother’s financial woes,” she added.
Nad (not her real name), 24, was a sugar baby for six months in 2018. She was then studying in a private college in the Klang Valley and her close circle of friends included a few girls who served as sugar babies after college hours.
Tempted by the money and expensive gifts showered on her friends by their sugar daddies, Nad found herself becoming a sugar baby.
“Yes, I admit it was the money that attracted me. My monthly income (as a sugar baby) would exceed RM10,000. In what other ways can an undergraduate like me earn that kind of money?”
After six months, Nad decided to call it a day as her mother got wind of her shady activities and urged her to put a stop to it.
“My mother understood why I became a sugar baby… it was for money because my parents were poor and could barely afford to pay my college fees.
“She advised me not to trade my honour and self-respect for money. I really regretted bringing shame to my parents,” she said.
Sugar Baby, Sugar Daddy
The sugar baby, sugar daddy issue came into the limelight early last month when news reports, citing statistics by SeekingArrangement — the world’s largest sugar dating website — stated that Malaysia is home to 42,500 sugar daddies, putting the nation in the third spot for the highest number of sugar daddies in Asia behind Indonesia with 60,250 and India with 338,000.
Hot on the heels of the revelation, on Feb 24, the founder of a homegrown sugar baby dating website, Sugarbook, was charged under Section 505 (b) of the Penal Code in the Magistrate’s court for publishing a post on Feb 10 entitled “Top 10 Sugar Baby Universities in Malaysia” with the intention to “cause fear or unrest to the public”.
According to the Sugarbook site, a sugar baby is defined as an “individual (girl or boy) who requests for guidance, financial assistance and friendship from a sugar daddy under the terms of an agreement agreed to by both parties”.
The same site also states that sugar babies are willing to exchange companionship, friendship and sexual favours for money, gifts and pampering by “rich old men”.
A sugar daddy, meanwhile, is defined as a man who is financially secure and uses his money to pamper the sugar baby of his choice.
The Sugarbook site has a membership of over 400,000, out of which 220,000 are sugar babies, 180,000 sugar daddies and 6,000 sugar mummies. It is said that a bulk of the sugar babies comprise college and university students.
Currently, the Sugarbook website cannot be accessed by the public as the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has blocked it following calls from various groups, including university student bodies and non-governmental organisations.
Ban Sugar dating apps, websites
Various groups have been lobbying the government to take immediate action to curb the proliferation of “sugar dating” applications and websites that enable girls, and in some cases boys, to link up with potential clients.
Johor Mufti Datuk Yahya Ahmad has reportedly said that the government should take stern action against sugar dating sites by blocking them and banning such sites as there is no reason for them to exist in Malaysia.
He said the government should also closely monitor cyberspace so that sites that promote immoral behaviour can be blocked immediately.
Negeri Sembilan Mufti Datuk Mohd Yusof Ahmad, meanwhile, was quoted as saying that the so-called sugar daddies should set a good example to the younger generation.
“They (sugar daddies) should learn to resolve their marital problems and lead a happy life, instead of looking for sugar babies to fulfill their lust.
“As for the younger generation who serve as sugar babies, don’t seek a life of luxury using shortcuts, learn to live within your means,” he advised. – Bernama
