Recently, the Terengganu State Government announced that men in Terengganu who are in polygamy marriages will now be given the opportunity to get Rumah Mampu Milik (RMM). 

The RMM is a government initiative to increase the chances of the B40 and M40 groups to own a home. 

However, the Sisters in Islam (SIS) which is a Malaysian civil society organisation committed to promoting the rights of women within the frameworks of Islam and universal human rights, is of the opinion that this new development is not a good idea.

The non-governmental organization sees the decision made by the Terengganu government as worrying because it will only encourage more husbands to go into polygamy even if they are not financially able.

In Terengganu, when entering into a polygamy relationship Terengganu Syariah High Court in 2019 stated that a man has to be able to be fair among wives, that is to equalize between wives in material aspects (external alimony) including accommodation, food and drink, clothing and so on.

This means that a man has to be able to provide for both wives equally. 

“This leniency also makes no sense as most of the issues about polygamous marriages are related to the husband’s failure to act fairly and equitably to support and care for two or more families,” SIS said in a media statement released today.

SIS added that in the current situation, the state government should pay attention and strengthen assistance to single mothers and fathers.

"In this pandemic era, the state government must pay attention to vulnerable groups such as single mothers.

In the media statement, they also pointed out that in Johor, single parent groups are advocating for the government to recognize unmarried single parents so that they can receive financial assistance such as Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia (BKM).

“This is because, single parents have difficulty in applying for financial assistance from the government where they are required to provide a divorce certificate or a spouse’s death certificate,” the statement said.