Muar Community Club President Wants Malaysian Chinese To Have Polygamy Rights
He claims that this move will prevent the decline in Malaysia's Chinese population.
By Jia Vern Tham — 01 Mar 2018, 06:26 PM
On 27 February, a president of a community club in Muar called on MCA to fight for polygamous marriages on behalf of the Chinese community to prevent decline in population
At the Toh Guan club's Chinese New Year (CNY) celebration, Mr. Yu claimed that size of the Chinese population in Malaysia has dropped to a mere 20% due to a decline in fertility rate over past few years.
According to Mr. Yu, this trend will affect the representation of minorities in a racially diversified country.
Apart from that, Mr. Yu also encouraged the Chinese youth to get married earlier and reproduce more frequently
"I want to encourage young Malaysian Chinese to reproduce more in order to strengthen our community," he said.
Oriental Daily reported that Mr. Yu claimed this move will increase the Chinese population in Malaysia.
Although attendees at the CNY celebration cheered and applauded Mr. Yu, netizens have been criticising him for his statements
Oriental Daily wrote that most netizens opposed Mr. Yu's views on polygamous marriages.
Furthermore, some have cited financial restrictions and moral reasons as their justification for criticising Mr. Yu.
"Mr. Yu, please use your brain... if your son-in-law wanted to marry a few more wives, will your daughter be okay with that? How about yourself? You're setting a bad example as an elderly man."
"If you wanted to do this (polygamy) yourself then just admit it, don't encourage everyone to engage in this with you. Don't be that one bad apple spoiling the whole bunch! Please respect women, okay!"
"Also please respect yourself, do you not know how to think at this age?" one netizen said.
"Wake up, it's not that you can't get enough children with one wife. It's easy to reproduce, but the cost that comes with it is what makes it tough. The Chinese population prioritises quality over quantity. The cost to put one child all the way through university is already frightening enough."
"Are you too rich to realise the harsh realities of our society? Do you know how much do houses cost? Cars? Petrol, insurance...powdered milk, diapers, medical costs, hiring a nanny, kindergarten, extra classes and so on... I won't be able to sleep tonight if I go on."
"Go ahead and marry a few more wives if you can afford it, and ensure your wives don't have to worry about anything. If so, many people wouldn't mind men marrying more than one wife. Only the rich can afford this, but can you?" another netizen wrote.
In Malaysia, polygamy is illegal for non-Muslims under the Federal law, but allowed for Muslim men under the Syariah law
According to Women's Aid Organisation, Muslim men also have specific conditions to adhere to before having their polygamy applications approved by the Syariah Court. One of it, most notably in recent times, is the criteria of financial ability.
The applicant has to show particulars of his commitments, financial obligations, and liabilities, together with the number of his dependents. He may also have to show documents from his employer or income tax returns to prove his financial ability for polygamy.