A "Malaysian MP told parliament that there would be fewer marital problems and a lower divorce rate if Muslim women were taught to accept polygamy, news reports said today.

Ibrahim Ali, an independent parliamentarian, proposed moves to address the issue in response to complaints that women were always blamed for marital issues.

"Such problems happen because women cannot accept polygamy. From a preventive point of view, what about doing a big campaign so that women can accept polygamy?" Ibrahim was quoted saying in the Star daily.

The ethnic Malay Muslim lawmaker said women who are pregnant or who have "problems" when they hit their 50s do not understand that men still want to "have fun".

Fuziah Salleh, an opposition politician, had earlier questioned the qualifications of Islamic sharia court counsellors as she had received complaints from women that

they were forced to take the blame for most marital problems.

"They are not counselled but given 'advice'. And every time, they are told that the woman is to be blamed. If it is a family problem, they must be patient. If they are beaten up, they must also be patient," she said.

Muslim men in Malaysia are allowed up to four wives. Activists and women's groups say polygamy is cruel and has deviated from its original purpose in Islam, which was to protect widows and orphans.

Islam is the official religion of Malaysia, where more than 60 per cent of its 27 million people are Muslim Malays. Polygamy is illegal for non-Muslims."

Three weeks ago the Malaysian government proposed government restrictions on women travelling abroad on their own.

State media reported a plan that would require ALL women obtain written consent from their families or employers, prior to leaving the country.

Foreign Minister Rais Yatim submitted the proposal to the Cabinet. The plan is similar to requirements in some Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, where women need permission from their guardians to travel as part of Islamic principles.

This proposal has since been withdrawn, and the government opting instead to "issue a travel advisory asking all Malaysian citizens to be cautious when travelling out of the country,"

"A Malaysian Islamic (Sharia) court allowed a Muslim convert yesterday to return to her original faith of Buddhism, setting a precedent that could ease religious minorities' worries about their legal rights.

Lawyers said the Sharia High Court's verdict in Penang was the first time in recent memory that a convert has been permitted to legally renounce Islam in this Muslim-majority nation. A rising number of disputes about religious conversions has sparked anxiety among minorities because in the past courts virtually always ruled against people seeking to leave Islam."

Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah embraced Islam in 1998 because she wanted to marry an Iranian, but claimed she never truly practised the religion.