MENTION "mamasan" and one would expect
women in their late 40s or 50s.
Mamasans are likely to be those who
have retired from their days as hostesses to take on a more
supervisory role.
But Miss Kanda Loh Kailing, who
testified at a six-day coroner's inquiry in March over the
hit-and-run accidents involving former Romanian diplomat Silviu
Ionescu, surprised many when her picture appeared in the
newspapers, including this one.
Just 25 years old, she was working as
a mamasan at the Legend Palace KTV lounge, where Dr Ionescu, 49,was
a regular.
Pretty, chic and fashionable, Miss Loh
may well represent a new breed of mamasans, many of them below
30.
Another, Miss Ruhua, 28, is not
surprised that mamasans are getting younger.
Draw customers
The Singaporean became one when she was only 19 - unusual even
by today's standards.
She told The New Paper on Sunday that it's the smaller clubs
which use the younger mamasans to draw the customers.
This is because they go better with the younger mainland China
girls who come to work as hostesses.
"These girls usually have no qualms about going all the way(that
is, to have sex).
"The more established nightclubs still prefer to keep mamasans
who are older," added Miss Ruhua, who works only two or three times
a week at one of the top clubs on Havelock Road.
In the past, a mamasan's earnings could range from $3,000 to
$30,000 a month, including a fixed salary, commission and tips.
Now, they depend mainly on bottle commission and tips, said Miss
Ruhua, who was only 14 when she became a nightclub hostess - at one
of the top clubs, noless.
A year later, she was pregnant, and at 16 she had a child with
her then-boyfriend, who was three years older.
Miss Ruhua had to return to work just over a month after giving
birth.
She said: "I was so broke that on the first day, I had to use
the hongbao that was given for my baby's full-month
celebrations."
Some younger mamasans today also don't "own" the girls, unlike
in the past,when a mamasan would be assigned a certain number of
girls to manage fully, she said.
Hostesses now can also have a choice of whom they want to work
for. As a result, managing them can sometimes be trying for these
young mamasans.
Ms Nina, 47, a mamasan at another top club, said: "Many of the
girls these days come from mainland China. They are confident
enough on their own, so they work as freelance hostesses."
She cited as example the case of Chinese national Li Hongyan,
24, whose naked body was found in the pool of a Sentosa Cove
bungalow in March.
Miss Li was believed to have been moonlighting as a part-time
karaoke hostess in a number of lounges on Havelock Road.
Shanghai-born mamasan Miss Wei-wei, 24, came here 11/2 years
ago. She started working in a nightclub in Shanghai as hostess when
she was 17, before moving to Macau two years later.
She said: "But the competition there was too tough, with some
nightclubs even offering celebrity- lookalike hostesses to attract
the customers."
When her contract with the Macau nightclub ended in 2008, Miss
Wei-wei set her sights on Singapore.
One week into her job as a hostess, she hooked up with a
prominent local businessman for three months.
She did not want to give more details about the relationship but
admitted that it was to become her "lucky break".
Said Miss Wei-wei: "When he moved on to another girl, he
recommended his business associates and friends to me."
Raised profile
It raised her "profile" at the nightclub - something which the
management spotted at once.
She said: "I think they knew that I could afford not to work so
hard... or that I could move on to another nightclub."
Mis Wei-wei claimed she was thus "promoted" to mamasan and asked
to manage a group of 10 girls.
But settling into the role when she was just 23 turned out to be
tougher than she had expected.
She said: "Two of the more popular girls didn't take to it well
- they were older and had more experience. I had to find a balance
between being strict and easy-going."
She also had to put up with snide remarks, especially when
regular customers preferred her personal attention instead of the
hostesses'.
The challenge was in "how not to make the girls feel like I'm
their competitor".
"That's taboo and they can just walk out on you any time," she
said.
But the younger mamasans - most of whom are foreigners - may
still have it easier, said Miss Candy, 26,who is also from
Shanghai.
She works as a mamasan at a smaller club on Middle Road, and
manages eight girls - all from various parts of China.
Miss Candy said: "Well, the 'tong xiang' (same village) feeling
helps in some ways.
"The girls tend to stick together and look out for one another.
It's like camaraderie."
While things are more "official and businesslike" with the older
mamasans, the young ones tend to be more emotional.
Miss Ruhua said: "Everything revolves around feelings - it's
about whether we like or don't like something, someone. You must be
able to click."
And younger mamasans can relate better to the hostesses, said
Miss Wei-wei, who thinks nothing of paying $6,000 - for liquor,
sashes and tips - for a night of revelry at a male-host club for
herself and her girls.
She added: "It helps them to de-stress and in turn, they are
happier at work. So, it's a win-win situation."
