Since The Pandemic, 20 Muslim Couples Get Divorced Every Day in Perak Due to Financial Stress

By Karissa Lund  •  27 Aug 2021 in News

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The Perak state assembly was told today that an average of 20 Muslim couples in the state are getting divorced every day.

Manjoi assemblyman Datuk Asmuni Awi, who is also Perak Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) chairman, said this could be due to the negative effects from the Covid-19 pandemic, adding that the figure was considered high.

He said statistics from the Malaysian Syariah Judiciary Department showed a total of 71,806 divorce cases were recorded nationwide for the period from January 2020 to June this year, equivalent to 132 cases per day.

“If this number is broken down by state, Perak contributed 12 per cent of the total divorce cases, which means 20 couples get divorced every day or 450 couples a month,” he said during a debate session at the state Legislative Assembly Sitting in Bangunan Perak Darul Ridzuan here today.

He said that one of the main reasons for divorce during the pandemic was due to financial stress caused by job loss and business closures that affected the people’s income.

“A study on 6,500 respondents from all walks of life showed that the Movement Control Order (MCO) period had created a huge stress for the people due to high infection rates, low savings, lack of spending power, rising debt as well as loss of jobs or sources of income,” he added.

Other than divorces, the health crisis has also caused a massive “break-up wave” in Malaysia, particularly in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur and its surrounding areas.

According to SweetRing, an international dating application – 83 per cent of their new users reported to have broken up with their partners and blamed long-distance separation amid the pandemic for their splits.