With reference to the letter by Razak Adam, I wholeheartedly agree with him that a better policy o­n gambling would be to provide a regulated environment for such activities, which in turn allows for tax benefits.

We could use a similar argument for the legalisation of prostitution. This would allow us to tax the trade (say, 5 per cent service tax) and to keep track of sex workers so that they would not be exploited by pimps.

This also allows us to do better in the fight against sexually transmitted diseases. We can apply zoning laws o­n brothels so that they do not operate in residential neighbourhoods.