KUALA LUMPUR: With many couples divorcing due to petty reasons, the government will now move to make it compulsory for non-Muslim couples who want to get married in this country to attend a pre-marital course.
Deputy Women, Family and Community Development minister Hannah Yeoh said presently it was not compulsory for them under the National Registration Department (NRD).
It is compulsory for Muslim couples in Malaysia to attend a pre-marital course prior to tying the knot.
However, Yeoh said a series of discussion will be held in the near future for non-Muslim couples to be made to attend a pre-marital course.
"This is part of efforts to tackle the increase in divorce rates which usually happen in the first five years of marriage.
"The pre-marital course for non-Muslim couples will be handled by the NRD or their respective religious council because we do not want them to enter a marriage without understanding the problems they may face.
"It is hoped that with this course, couples can better understand and be aware of the challenges they may face, and at the same time making them more open in entering married life," she said.
Yeoh said this when answering a supplementary question by Noor Amin Ahmad (PH-PKR-Kangar) during the question and answe session in the Dewan Rakyat, here, today.
Noor Amin wanted to know if the government wants to widen the implementation of pre-marital courses to include non-Muslim couples following a spike in divorce rates in the country.
Meanwhile, answering Noor Amin's question on the statistics of divorce rates and the main reason for divorces in the country, Yeoh said more than one third of first-time marriages in Malaysia ended in failure within the first five years.
"Among the main reasons, as stated in the fifth Malaysian Family Wellbeing Index Study in 2014, is lack of understanding at 56.2 per cent, cheating wives (11.8 perc ent) and in-laws meddling (10 per cent).
"For women, 38 per cent cited lack of understanding as the main reason of divorce, followed by cheating husbands at 20.5 per cent and irresponsible husbands at 15.2 per cent," she said.
Yeoh also recalled a news report in 2016, in which the Selangor Syariah Judiciary Department said many divorce cases amongst young couples were due to trivial reasons.
Among the reasons they recorded were wives who liked to go on group trips, wives washing clothes at night and wives who eat in the car.
"Other reasons were differences in political opinions, husbands' low salaries, snoring and spouses who enjoy shopping too much.
"I am reading these reasons to show that some divorces these days are due to trivial reasons, this is very serious," Yeoh remarked.