Sex for sale

From Pikiran Rakyat

As the winds of reform continue to sweep across Indonesia, we must all actively participate in establishing a universal platform for reform that includes improvements in our moral standards, even though the prolonged economic crisis is far from over.

The crisis has caused some individuals among us to become so desperate they are willing to sacrifice their moral values -- and, in this context, their virginity -- in order to earn a little money by becoming sex workers even though they are still in their teens.

This is a characteristic of modernization without a moral foundation. Especially disturbing is that many of those young sex workers are of junior and senior high school age. I cannot imagine what will become of our society if so many members of our younger generation are of such a debased morality.

I must therefore appeal to all parents to exercise greater control over their children, especially during holidays. To the "consumers", I can only appeal to them to consider how they would feel if these children were their own.

HAMDAN SS

Bandung