Trivial reasons given for divorce

KUALA LUMPUR: Marriages are supposedly made in heaven but when things don’t go well even a spouse’s snoring is grounds for divorce.

Other reasons that made couples abandon their vows include wives who go on trips with friends too often or those who do their laundry at night.

Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Hannah Yeoh, referring to a media report that quoted the Selangor Syariah Judiciary Department, said these were among reasons for divorce among couples who had been married less than five years.

“Even I wash my clothes at night but this is (apparently) among the reasons why divorces are filed,” said Yeoh, drawing laughter from the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

Deputy Speaker Nga Kor Ming quipped that perhaps Yeoh should send her clothes to the laundry instead.

To this, Yeoh replied: “What can we do? Parliament sittings often end at night.”

Yeoh also said some husbands disliked their wives eating in the car, another factor that led to some couples parting ways.

The media report, published in 2016, outlined 23 frivolous reasons that led to divorces in Selangor.

Others included differences in political opinions and husbands with lower salaries than their wives.

“I read out these reasons to show that these are among the trivial reasons used to file for divorces,” said Yeoh.

This, she said, was a serious matter, which was why the government was taking steps to strengthen the institution of marriage and family through the National Population and Family Development Board (LPPKN).

The board would provide pre-and post-marriage courses to prepare couples in building a strong and happy family, especially for young couples, she told Kangar MP Noor Amin Ahmad.

Noor Amin had earlier asked the ministry for the statistics and reasons behind divorce cases.

Yeoh said among the pre-marriage courses conducted by LPPKN included the SmartStart programme for couples who wanted to get married or for those who had been married less than five years; and SmartBelanja to help couples learn about managing their finances.

For post-marriages, some of the courses included counselling services and SmartStart 2nd Honeymoon for those married for more than five years, as well as Parenting@Work for parents.

Yeoh said based on statistics from the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department, there were 2,932 divorces between 2013 and 2017 among couples who had been married less than five years.

“For non-Muslims, statistics from the National Registration Department showed there had been 14,440 divorce cases for marriages less than five years during the same period,” she said.

In that period, Johor recorded the highest number at 2,860 cases, followed by Kuala Lumpur (2,721) and Selangor (1,858), said Yeoh.

She also said that a study by LPPKN showed that in 2014, more than one-third of first marriages that were less than five years ended in divorce or separation.

Among the reasons men filed for divorce are irreconcilable differences (56.2%), unfaithful wives (11.8%) and meddling in-laws (10%).

For women, about 38% said that among the reasons for divorce were also irreconcilable differences, followed by unfaithful husbands (20.5%) and irresponsible partners (15.2%).

To another question, Yeoh also said the ministry was looking into having mandatory pre-wedding courses for non-Muslims.

Currently, such courses are only compulsory for Muslims.