My Longkang

‘Love is a many-splendoured thing’ croons the singer while patrons at an entertainment outlet mentally count the night’s cost in ringgit and sen. How much would you spend for your love?

Few would balk at the cast of a single date, or even a trip outstation but what is the limit you would set? Love is immeasurable and cannot be defined so how do we quote a price of love?

But it is a market place. The older one gets, the more one’s market value drops and the more one is willing to pay for love. The price is highest at early to mid-twenties and drops slowly after that. After the magic figure of forty, the individuals concerned might even have stopped contemplating finding ‘love’ and resort to paid for ‘love’.

Sometimes it is not for sex but a genuine loneliness. Such people look for massage parlours where for an hour or two, their aches and pains are soothed away and they connect with a fellow human being without the need to feel guilty. Others visit night-spots and enjoy the presence of transient company for a price. If the alcohol goes beyond a certain level, the stakes are raised and fees accordingly increase. The morning after will be a time of regret and worry about transmittable diseases for example.

My question to you readers is how far would you go to find company and how much would you be willing to pay? The existence of people paying thousands for foreign brides testifies to the needs of a niche group.

But sometimes true love happens and irrespective of age and cultural barrier, true love prevails. One person even bought a shophouse overseas and offered to provide for the partner’s children’s overseas education.

Love is a wonderful thing. The funny thing is in the Star today it was quoted that Malaysians in general are not satisfied with their sex life.