EARLY January. The still of the early morning in the liaison office of the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Tawau, Sabah, was broken by the wailing of two young women. Hurriedly, Makdum Tahir, Indonesia’s consul there, met with Ratna and Tuti (not their real names). Sobbing, the two uninvited guests sought protection from a syndicate dealing in women that intended to then auction off their virginity to womanizers. The unfor