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