PETALING JAYA: A helpline offering marriage and family counselling has been launched following the government’s revelation that Malaysia sees an average of five divorce applications filed every hour.
To help couples facing marital conflicts, the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry through the National Population and Family Development Board (LPPKN) recently launched the toll-free FamilyCare@LPPKN helpline.
Eighteen licensed family counsellors in the field of psychology have been appointed for the helpline.
As at Oct 29, the helpline – at 1-800-82-0300 – has logged 533 cases, of which the majority (71%) were female callers.
“The FamilyCare Helpline is a good alternative to social media, such as Twitter and Facebook which users have been using as a medium to express their feelings,” said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Harun.
“This helpline enables problems to be shared with professionals who can guide clients in their next course of action.
“It also enables the sharing session to be held harmoniously as they will be handled by experienced LPPKN counsellors,” she said.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, there have been more than 76,000 divorce applications filed between March 2020 and August 2021 – 66,440 were by Muslim couples and 10,346 were by non-Muslims, according to the government.
On Oct 12, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin told the Dewan Rakyat that Selangor topped the list for the highest divorce rate among both Muslims and non-Muslims, with 12,479 cases recorded.
Counselling could be one of the most effective ways to help couples facing marital conflict, said licensed counsellor Jamaida Jamaludin, who added that despite the country having moved into the Covid-19 recovery phase, many clients were still approaching her with marital problems.
“About 62% of the total sessions I handled have involved marital issues. The main reasons for such problems are gender differences in psychological well-being, communication issues and also perspectives on life, where I find that many issues stemmed from this aspect during the pandemic.
“Other reasons include infidelity, mental health issues, domestic violence and financial woes,” she said.
For clients with marital woes but who have chosen to stay together, Jamaida recommends that they seek professional help through counselling and therapy, as well as practising acceptance of the problem and forgiveness towards one’s self and partner.
As for those opting to get a divorce, she suggests that they head to the nearest religious office to get advice or seek out legal services for those who need to make claims through the Syariah court.
Civil and family law practitioner Amsa Naidu observed that divorce rates among non-Muslim couples had also been gradually rising over the past 10 years and peaked during the lockdown.
She said the breakdown of marital ties must be addressed seriously by the government as the institution of marriage has been failing, with children often paying the price.
Amsa said the main reasons for domestic problems were financial issues, infidelity and family interference.
“The most common reasons for marital problems, in my view, are related to finances because the majority of women are working or employed, hence they multitask as mothers, wives and breadwinners.
“Hence, the most trivial issue can cause an imbalance as women feel they contribute more than men.
“Lately, this has worsened as many have lost their jobs and one party has had to shoulder the burden 100%.
“Another reason is infidelity. Somehow ‘third-party issues’ have also increased for both men and women,” she said.
She noted that family interference was also a factor for divorce, with many couples facing “culture shock” after marriage when they start cohabiting with in-laws.
“Once a child is born, babysitting by in-laws becomes fuel to existing fires, so couples end up divorced within three years of marriage,” she said.