MUSLIM applications for divorce were 6.5 times higher than non-Muslim applications between March 2020 and August 2021, said the government.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), there were 66,440 applications for divorce made to the Shariah courts, while there were 10,346 non-Muslim applications for divorce over the same period.

Whether Muslim or non-Muslim, the highest number of applications for divorce came from Selangor.

“Between March 2020 and August 2021, there were 12,479 applications for Muslim divorces at the Shariah courts (in Selangor), while 3,160 applications for non-Muslim divorces,” the PMO told the Dewan Rakyat in a written reply to a question from Dr Hasan Baharom (Tampin-PH) yesterday.

The government said it did not track the number of divorces during the Covid-19 pandemic and as such could only provide the divorce statistics for the period March 2020 to August 2021.

Following Selangor, there were 7,558 applications for Muslim divorce in Johor, 5,985 in Kedah and 5,982 in Kelantan. The state with the lowest number of Muslim applications for divorce came from Sarawak with just 561.

Similarly, for non-Muslims, there were 2,893 divorces in Kuala Lumpur, 1,209 in Perak and 1,197 in Johor.

“There is, however, no study as to the reasons for the divorces,” said the PMO. – September 15, 2021.