KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: The first time tour guide Ong Swee Ching shared a hotel room with a male counterpart 12 years ago, it was a nightmare she never forgot.

He had gone out for drinks at the hotel lounge and when he returned to the room, she was almost asleep.

But instead of settling down in the single bed across the room, Ong said he got into her bed and tried to molest her.

She managed to push him away and ran out to another room where two of her colleagues were.

Unfortunately, they were not too eager for Ong to lodge a report with their tour agency and told her to keep quiet or she could lose her job. And so she kept it secret.
Recalling the incident, Ong, 46, said such a practice by tour agencies was common.

One way to cut costs was to get the male and female tour guides to share hotel rooms.

"I was lucky I got away. But what about others? I don't think they should suffer in silence," she told the New Straits Times after Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen met with tourism industry stakeholders at her office at the Putra World Trade Centre yesterday.

Dr Ng had announced on Tuesday that effective June 1, tour operators who force their male and female tour guides to share rooms would have their licences revoked.

Those present included hotel operators, tour agencies and tour guide associations.

Ong is a member of the Malaysian Women Tourist Guide Association (MWTGA).

She said there was a general lack of apathy among those in the industry towards sexual abuse and several victims who had reported such incidents were often threatened or given money to keep quiet.

MWTGA communications officer Grace Tan said she had encountered more than 200 women who claimed they were sexually abused after they were forced to share rooms with their male colleagues.

She said the ruling announced by Dr Ng was a beacon of hope for the 1,400 registered female tour guides nationwide. -NST