Commentary by Mustafa K. Anuar 

WHILE the world’s attention has been focused on Israel’s barbaric assault on Gaza and the mass boycott of Israel-linked products, we seem to have neglected a staggering problem on the home front that is unfolding before our very eyes. 
 
PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man has swiftly brought to our attention that a whopping 8.4 million single Malaysian women above the age of 30 have been left high and dry without partners or rather, husbands. 
 
Incidentally, this revelation may help us understand why the country’s overall birth rate has been dropping significantly over the years, which is disconcerting as the remaining number of people may not be able to match the supply of locally manufactured Proton cars. 
 
At the outset of the Proton project, it was hoped that a bigger Malaysian population would translate into a bigger market for the national car industry. However, the current decreasing population indicates that the demand cannot keep up with the rate of supply. 
 
The single women issue is a problem that is about to burst at the seams.  

Ignoring it will obviously be a miscarriage of justice because, as alluded to by Tuan Ibrahim, the single women have been deprived of blessed and blissful marriages over the years.  
 
That is why the Kubang Kerian MP has called on the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry to give moral support to those men “who have the capability and eligibility to enter polygamy and are able to be fair in marriage”. 
 
At this juncture, it is not clear what was meant by moral support to be given to men whose hormones are still galloping, which is neither a crime nor sin to experience. 
 
We can only surmise that the ministry is expected to give its blessings to men who have the noble aim of ensuring women receive marital satisfaction and that feeling of wholesomeness.  
 
This may well take the form of conducting workshops to provide practical tips for men on how to upgrade skills and maintain performance. The men need all the stimulus packages they can get. 
 
Given that some of these men are coy about their carnal desires, the ministry may have to facilitate blind dates that will be under the watchful eyes of chaperons. It is hoped that the magic of love at first sight can occur in such rushed rendezvous. 

A quick romantic trip – although participants are to be fully clothed – to Langkawi may do the trick.  
 
In this regard, perhaps some leaders in PAS may want to volunteer wholeheartedly to be polygamous so as to set a good example for its ordinary members as well as other concerned Malaysians. Wear polygamy on the sleeve.  
 
Indeed, they should be resolute in answering Tuan Ibrahim’s call, take up the cudgel and rise to the occasion.  
 
The consequent procreation obviously would have the effect of strengthening the ummah in terms of numbers. The more, the merrier – in more ways than one.  

Besides, in a world where quotas govern our collective life, size does matter, numerically speaking. This is obviously an important role wedded women can play.  
 
Counselling sessions may be required to help the first wives of the gallant and polygamous men see reason as to why the single women have to enter the state of wedlock for the bigger interest of nation-building. 
 
This marriage project also serves as a useful solution to the ageing population that is haunting Malaysia. We need more young people, who stand on the shoulders of married leaders, to take the country to greater heights. 
 
Needless to say, it would be anticlimactic if this spirited call to saviours of single women was met with vehement objection from feminists. – November 25, 2023.