Federal territories minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said the modus operandi of prostitution syndicates has become increasingly creative, using these premises as fronts to advertise immoral services.
“The challenge for the KL Strike Force is to combat prostitution activities that have shifted from conventional venues to digital platforms.
“Homestays, hotels and private residences have also been used as hubs for such activities.
“In this regard, the government urges the local community to act as ‘watchdogs’ and report these activities to Adu@KL 2.0 or any complaint channel of agencies under the KL Strike Force, simply by using #KLStrikeForce in social media posts,” she said during the question-and-answer session.
Zaliha was responding to Zahir Hassan (PH-Wangsa Maju) who had questioned the increase in prostitution activities, fights involving illegal immigrants and the influx of foreign street vendors in Kuala Lumpur despite the establishment of the KL Strike Force.
Zaliha, who is also KL Strike Force adviser, said that since its inception on May 27, the special unit has raided 209 premises in the federal capital linked to prostitution activities.
She said through raids conducted in collaboration with the police and other enforcement agencies, 781 individuals have been arrested, comprising 149 locals and 632 foreigners aged between 18 and 61.
“It’s inaccurate to say there has been no reduction in prostitution cases in Kuala Lumpur as data shows that only 159 raids and 540 arrests were made in 2023, compared with the figures reported for the third quarter of the year,” she said.
Zaliha added that Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) led integrated operations targeting foreign-owned business premises with four such operations carried out until September.
“During these operations, 11 business premises were monitored, and four of them were immediately shut down under Section 101(1)(v) of the Local Government Act 1976, as they were fully operated by foreigners,” she said.
Zaliha said 59 foreign-owned premises have also been monitored until September.
“Of these, 15 premises were immediately closed, 53 offence notices were issued, 22 confiscations were carried out and 22 investigation papers were opened,” she said.