More and more Malaysians want to practice polygamy in the south of Thailand
ASTRO AWANI
March 6, 2023
More and more Malaysians want to practice polygamy in the south of Thailand
Southern Thailand continues to be the destination of choice for men from Malaysia who intend to be polygamous with at least 30 couples getting married there every month. - Decorative pictures
NARATHIWAT, THAILAND: Southern Thailand continues to be the preferred destination for Malaysian men who wish to be polygamous.
Based on information from the Islamic Religious Council of Narathiwat Province, at least 30 couples from Malaysia hold their weddings in southern Thailand every month.
According to the authority, after the border was opened, couples who wanted to have polygamy or received family opposition returned to the south of the neighboring country as a place for them to get married.
"Alhamdulillah, it's not like COVID-19 yet... many people have already started entering (southern Thailand). Some (couples) go to Songkla, but it is said that there are less than 50 (couples) registered per month," said the Deputy Chairman of the Islamic Religious Council of Narathiwat Province, Abd Aziz Che Mamat.
He said, the Islamic religious council did not perform weddings for couples from Malaysia when the border between the two countries was closed due to the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic.
However, Abd Aziz said, there are couples who are accused of conducting their marriages using marriage agents operating at the border.
He said, marriage agents operating at the border charge up to RM5,000 on couples.
What is regrettable, he explained, is that most of the marriages are not registered with the Islamic Religious Council of Thailand and there are weaknesses in several aspects that make their marriages invalid.
Accordingly, Abd Aziz requested the Malaysian government to relax the conditions for couples from that country who want to get married in the south of Thailand without having to obtain confirmation from the Malaysian Consulate in Songkla.
This is because, according to him, the confirmation from the Consulate in Songkla caused many Malaysian couples who got married in Thailand to not register their marriage, causing difficulties in the future.
The requirement to obtain confirmation from the Malaysian Consulate office in Songka began to be implemented in 2015.
Any Malaysian couple who got married and then registered with the Islamic Religious Council in any region in Thailand needs confirmation from the embassy.
Failure to obtain the confirmation caused the couple's marriage to not be registered in Malaysia.
