Man's In-Laws Demand More Dowry After PM Announced Govt Servants' Salary Hike
According to the civil servant, his future mother-in-law has asked for an additional RM4,000.
By Sadho Ram — 15 May 2024, 03:46 PM — Updated 2 months ago
Earlier this month, when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced a salary increase of over 13% for civil servants, the news unexpectedly led to personal turmoil for one government employee
The 31-year-old, who prefers to remain anonymous, is due to be married in December this year.
In an anonymous post last Friday on X, formerly Twitter, the man said that he had agreed to a dowry of RM14,000 as requested by his future mother-in-law.
However, following the announcement of a salary hike for civil servants, which will come into effect on 1 December 2024, his future mother-in-law raised the dowry demand to RM18,000.
"I am extremely stressed. We had agreed on the initial amount, and I complied. But after the salary increase was announced, my future mother-in-law is now asking for more. This has led to multiple arguments with my fiancée, and I feel like this relationship is going nowhere," the groom-to-be lamented.
The proposed salary hike, which has to be approved in parliament during the tabling of the 2025 Budget in October, is aimed at easing the financial burden for civil servants
However, it seems to have inadvertently strained the man's relationship with his future wife.
The man's situation has sparked discussions on social media, with some saying in jest that the civil servant should sue Anwar for the salary hike and his future mother-in-law for demanding more dowry.
One of the commenters shared that the man should just "move on".
"There are many other women out there. Even if your fiancée is okay, if your mother-in-law is like that, you will suffer for the rest of your life. You have to face that for a long time. You'll never be at peace, and your mother-in-law will never be at peace either if you don't follow her demands. Move on," the person advised.
"Before anything has even started, they're already demanding money. I can imagine he's going to end up being the guarantor for a lot of expensive items at his future in-laws' house," another remarked.
Another added that the man's in-laws are a "red flag" and dealing with them is going to be exhausting.
Some even voiced their concerns about the broader implications of the proposed salary hike.
"I already said, announcing the salary increase for government employees is going to open the door to price hikes (in this case, the dowry). Our money is becoming less valuable," one user commented.
Others reflected on the cultural pressures faced by men in these situations.
"That's the thing with men. People rarely sympathise with them [...] The elders don't think about making marriage easier, they make it harder. You should really think twice about this. As a man, you also have to find the money for your share of the wedding expenses," noted another.
