If you’ve been following all the buzz about the digital billboard ads in Bangsar promoting Sugarbook, an online dating site that promotes sugar baby-sugar daddy relationship, you would know by now that the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has taken it down.

Despite that, there have been calls to ban the site and app. That did not sit well with Sugarbook founder and chief executive officer Darren Chan at all.

A platform to empower women

Taking to his Facebook page, Chan wrote that the Sugarbook platform was created to provide a dating platform for women, who can choose what they want from an ideal relationship without being judged.

“In light of the public’s concern over our billboard, we hope you understand that we built Sugarbook to empower women by giving them a dating platform to choose freely what they want in an ideal relationship, without being scrutinised.

“Women empowerment is about elevating women by increasing the capacity for them to be able to choose freely.

“The keyword here is choice and Sugarbook is about providing our people that precise choice,” he said.

He also said that “sugar babies” were not illegal sex workers because they do not trade their bodies for monetary value.

“They are real people from all walks of life, e.g. struggling single mothers, housewives, widows and divorcees."

For that reason, Chan felt that it's unjust to ban the platform.

“Ultimately, we fear that this demand would undermine the freedoms and liberties of the Malaysian people,” he said.

What do you guys think about the whole issue?