Some Malaysian men prefer polygamy

Some Malaysian men prefer polygamy

MALAYSIA: About 10 percent of Malaysian Muslim men have more
than one wife, according to a survey published on Sunday. Five
percent of the 7,589 married Muslim men polled have two wives,
4.3 percent have three wives and less than 1 percent have four
wives -- the maximum allowed under Islamic law, according to the
survey published in the New Sunday Times newspaper.

Islam is the official religion in Malaysia and more than half
of the country's 26 million people are ethnic Malay Muslims. The
rest are ethnic Chinese and Indians and tribespeople who embrace
Christianity, Buddhism or Hinduism.

Under Islamic law, Muslim men are allowed to have up to four
wives but they need permission from their existing spouses before
they can marry again. Bigamy is outlawed for non-Muslims in
Malaysia but the law is not strictly enforced.

Without giving actual figures, the report said nearly 4
percent of Chinese men polled had two wives and 1.3 percent had
three. Nearly 3 percent of Indian men polled had two wives and
about 2 percent had three.

The survey was carried out last year by a local university,
Universiti Putra Malaysia. It wasn't clear why it took so long
for the poll to be made public. Calls to the university were
unanswered on Sunday. -- AP