I'd like to react to the concerns raised by the two members of parliament with regards to the proposed amendments to the Islamic Family Law. Anyone can see that their interest is to keep it easy for Muslim men to practise polygamy. A closer look at their arguments will also show that they don't even make sense.

Ismail Yaakob (BN-Bera) argued that changes in the law would lead to Muslim men keeping their potential second wives as mistresses. Well, that would be like saying that we shouldn't have harsher penalties for our corrupt policemen because they would then be less open about stopping

motorists for bribes.

Then we have Mohd Said Yusof (BN-Jasin) warning that couples might elope to Thailand to marry if it is too hard to meet the law's local requirements for polygamy. Well, that would be like saying that we shouldn't have impose higher admission standards for medical faculties in our universities because students who can't get in might run off to study in Crimea.

What I perceive to be sorely lacking in this whole matter is the lack of moral leadership on the part of our government to take a stand for the good of the nation. Is it so hard to see that the existing laws which encourage polygamy are disadvantageous Muslim women and children and perpetuate social imbalances which affect everyone?

For a start, I would suggest that we establish a climate of intolerance for men who take more than one wife. This has been proven to work in discouraging smoking and burping loudly in public places, so why not do the same for polygamy?