MALAYSIA: Widower,54, Offers to Marry 10 Aged Prostitutes

KUALA TERENGGANU, Malaysia (Berita Harian), September 11, 2006: "I am willing to marry them." This is an offer by a Kuantan widower to 10 ageing prostitutes here, one of whom is a great-grandmother. The 54-year old man said he was prepared to take three or more of the prostitutes as his wives as he felt pity for them and wanted them to stop their flesh trade. The man had written to several government agencies expressing his intention after reading about the women's plight after reading about them in a Malay tabloid, reports R.S.N. Murali. The widower expressed loneliness as his wife had passed away for sometime now and said he did not mind marrying the women. He wanted them to give up their undesirable activities as they were all growing older and needed someone to care for them. “I don’t care who they were previously. But if I marry them, they should be loyal to me alone and take good care of me as their husband,” he stressed. The man pledged to provide shelter, food and clothing to the women and treat them equally if they were willing to be his companions. “They can look after my welfare and cook for me. We can all live happily ever after,” he added. State Islam Hadhari and Welfare Committee chairman Datuk Rosal Wahid said they had no objection if the man was sincere in his proposal. “No one can stop him if he does not mind the women's past and is willing to accept them,” he said yesterday. “My only word of advice is that the man should be sincere in his offer. He should, however, not be overzealous and just marry one woman first.”