Malaysia mulls compatibility quiz for couples who want to wed

A couple's hands with wedding rings. The voluntary quiz aims to check if couples are properly matched with each other before tying the knot. PHOTO: BH FILE

KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Malaysian couples who want to marry can find out if they are a good match by taking a compatibility quiz, said Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Hannah Yeoh.

She said the government was mulling introducing an online compatibility quiz for singles and dating couples.

The voluntary quiz, modelled on marriage counsellors' questionnaires, is akin to a personality test where couples can check if they are properly matched with each other before tying the knot.

This is to help prevent their marriage from ending in divorce.

"The couples can take part in the quiz voluntarily to determine their personality traits," Ms Yeoh told reporters at Parliament lobby on Tuesday (July 9).

She said the quiz was not confined to couples, but could be done by young people wishing to know more about their personality traits.

Marriage counsellors usually conduct personality trait tests.

Ms Yeoh also said in Parliament that the highest rate of divorces involved couples aged between 30 and 34.

"It was found that most couples tend to rush into marriage without knowing or understanding more about themselves or their partners. That is why we are considering a compatibility test," she said in reply to a question from Opposition Member of Parliament Jalaluddin Alias.

She added that based on a study, "misunderstanding" was often cited as the main cause of marriage breakdowns.

"For women, one third of them cited misunderstanding as the reason for divorce, followed by accusations of having unfaithful and irresponsible husbands.

"For men, almost half of them cited misunderstanding as the reason for divorce, followed by accusations of interference by in-laws in their lives. The other cause was infidelity," she said.

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