‘More control is good’: JB wellness outlets welcome government efforts to weed out ‘dirty’ spas
Some players hope the city's move in freezing new spa licence applications is temporary in order not to hinder expansion. Business is booming, boosted by an increasing number of visitors from Singapore.
Many of the illegitimate massage parlours in Johor Bahru have garish neon signs, locals say. (Photo: CNA/Zamzahuri Abas)
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Amir Yusof
12 Feb 2024 06:00AM (Updated: 12 Feb 2024 10:35AM)
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JOHOR BAHRU: As night fell in Johor Bahru’s Taman Sentosa district, burly men took their posts outside rows of shophouses with bright neon signs advertising shoulder rubs and foot massages.
Inside the spas and reflexology outlets, however, a different suite of services could be on the menu.
At four of six such outlets CNA visited, sexual services were the only options on offer, at prices ranging from RM160 to RM300 (US$34 to US$63).
At one massage centre, a receptionist referred customers to a Telegram channel that had photographs of foreign women and explicit breakdowns of the sexual services proffered.
At another facility, instead of soft calming music typically heard at wellness establishments, pulsating disco tunes blasted from the speakers.
The seedy reputation of Johor Bahru’s wellness industry is an open secret among locals.
Whenever retiree Nik Roslina Nik Ngah is in the mood for a massage, she knows she has to do due diligence before picking an outlet.
The 53-year-old told CNA that she is aware some illicit massage parlours are ill-disguised fronts for the sex trade.
“It is well-known among Johoreans that some of the massage outlets are ‘dirty’, so it pays to do your research and check first,” said Mdm Nik Roslina.
“When you go to certain places, especially the rows of shophouses near Taman Sentosa and Taman Pelangi, it gets very uncomfortable … it's not family-friendly at all,” she added, referring to districts near the city centre located within a 10-minute drive from Woodlands Causeway.
The industry’s shady reputation has prompted the Johor Bahru City Council (MBJB) to freeze applications for new business licences for spa, massage, reflexology and wellness outlets in the city.
Making the announcement earlier this month, Johor Bahru mayor Mohd Noorazam Osman said the freeze is to allow MBJB to “replan and rebrand the business activity so that it will be on par with developed countries”.
He added that these businesses should be relocated to zones like shopping malls and hotels where the operating hours are more “suitable”.
"Many apply for licences due to high demand from tourism. However, at the same time, we do not want any immoral activities taking place at these premises," Mr Mohd Noorazam said.
The freeze does not extend to licence renewals, applications to add lots, or the changing of company owner or company names, he said.
Prior to the freeze, MBJB would receive an average of 15 new applications for such business licenses each month, he added. At present, there are 151 licensed wellness businesses.
MBJB recently discovered that 43 premises had run afoul of licensing laws by operating in unsuitable zones, for example, and they have been forced to shut operations, he said.
'PEOPLE WILL SEE US IN A BETTER LIGHT'
Some legitimate spa operators applauded the decision to freeze new applications.They said businesses with improper practices — which, according to them, are mostly short-term operations — will be weeded out by the new regulations and this will boost the standards and reputation of the industry overall.
“To me, more control is good,” said Mr Andrew Tan, director of Spa Manja, a Balinese-style spa along Jalan Dato Sulaiman near the popular KSL City Mall.
“It will bring up the entire standard of the spa industry. People from outside (will) see us (in a better light) so it's better for the industry as a whole,” he added.
Mr Andrew Tan, whose spa has been operating for 19 years, hopes the MBJB’s recent announcement will help distinguish legitimate operations from the shady ones.
“I cannot control (what other businesses do) but if government control is done, and they control well, we can be separated from those (illegitimate) businesses,” he said.
Spa Manja, which has jacuzzis, an indoor theatre as well as an open-air cafe, has made the effort to market itself as a proper wellness outfit, he said. It is certified by Tourism Malaysia as well as the Association of Malaysia Spas.
“I think it’s good that (the local government) is more stringent about the licence. For us to get the licence, we went through a long process — we made sure we met all the requirements, staff are trained, all the planning is done properly,” he added.
Mr Alvin Tan, director of the popular Johor Bahru massage chain Bangkok Spa, echoed similar sentiments.
“I think (the move to freeze licenses) is good to maintain the quality and image of the spa industry in Johor Bahru,” said Mr Alvin Tan.
Bangkok Spa has three outlets located within Taman Pelangi and Taman Sentosa. Its Thai massage packages are popular with tourists and Singaporeans make up around 80 per cent of the clientele.
Employees are not allowed to offer clients sexual services; anyone found to have done so will be dismissed and handed over to the police, said Mr Alvin Tan.
He told CNA the move to freeze licences is likely aimed at phasing out “improper spas”.
Illegitimate spas are typically short-term operations because many would get raided by the authorities within months of opening, he explained. The freeze on licences would prevent these businesses from starting up again.
Johor police as well as the Malaysia Immigration Department conduct regular raids on some of these facilities.
Last week, the Southern Johor Police Department raided two of such facilities along Taman Seri Tebrau where 11 individuals including 10 foreign women were nabbed for suspected vice activities.
The immigration department conducted an operation last month on New Year's Day on a massage parlour in Johor Bahru, and arrested nine Vietnamese nationals after receiving complaints from members of the public on “immoral activities”.
In a statement, the department said that the foreign women had overstayed in Malaysia and were also nabbed for engaging in vice.
Besides legitimate spa operations, other businesses in Johor Bahru are also supportive of the move by MBJB.
Ms Wong, who owns a retail store along Jalan Tebrau — adjacent to a row of five spa outlets that are allegedly illegitimate — said she has witnessed police raids being conducted from time to time. A handful of people would be arrested during these operations.
“We are a family-friendly store and we have young children who come as customers. It's really not ideal that (the illegitimate) spas are next door,” said Ms Wong, who did not want to reveal her full name for fear of reprisal.
HOW LONG WILL FREEZE LAST?
While many legitimate businesses supported efforts to regulate the industry, some hope the licence freeze is a temporary measure.Bangkok Spa’s Mr Alvin Tan told CNA that the chain wants to open more branches and the new regulations have forced its management to put these plans on hold.
“We are just pausing our plans and hope that the decision to unfreeze the (application for new licences) will be carried out as soon as possible,” he said. “We hope it will be fast … perhaps within six months."
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CNA has reached out to MBJB for more information on how long the licence freeze will be in effect, and how the council plans to rebrand the industry.Some legitimate operators, however, are sceptical about whether the freeze will achieve its aim.
“The vice issue in some spas has been a long-term problem in Johor Bahru for decades. The freezing of licences will go some way in addressing the problem but, by itself, I don’t think it will be enough to eradicate these dirty spas,” said Mr Muhd Helmi Filman, general manager of Johor Thai Spa in Taman Sentosa.
The spa occupies a two-storey shop lot and has been forced to shelve plans to expand to other parts of the city for now. Around half of its customers are tourists from Singapore and Indonesia, while the rest are locals.
“Whatever obstacles you (put in) place, somehow these businesses will find a way to survive,” he said.
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