More ethnic Chinese and Indian men in Malaysia are marrying foreign women, with Indonesian brides being the most popular, a report said Wednesday.
But fewer women among the Chinese and Indians appear to be marrying foreign men, Deputy Home Affairs Minister Tan Chai Ho told Parliament, the national news agency Bernama reported.
According to Tan's figures, from 2001 to June this year, 33,995 marriages between local men and foreign women had been registered. Indonesian women were the top pick of Malaysian men with 2,036 marriages registered in 2005, up sharply from 1,386 in 2001.
Marriages between local women and foreign men had dropped 33.8 percent to 11,112 between the 2001-June 2006 period.
The statistics did not include marriages for Malay Muslims, who account for 60 percent of Malaysia's 26 million people and are required to register their marriage with the Islamic religious department.
Chinese make up about a quarter of the population and Indians about 10 percent.
The number of brides from China also jumped to 1,711 in 2005 from only 351 in 2001, those from Vietnam to 1,185 from 28, and from Thailand to 931 from 681.
British men were most popular with Malaysian women, with 169 marriages registered in 2005 compared to 149 in 2001, followed by Indian men with 86 marriages in 2005 from 71 in 2001.
The divorce rate among non-Malay couples went up, with 24,190 divorces registered from 2001 to May this year. Of the total, 18 percent involved couples between the ages of 18 and 29, he was quoted as saying. According to the report, Tan said lower dowry and wedding costs could be a reason why more Malaysian men were marrying foreign women.
A dowry, either in cash or kind, is customarily given to the bride's parents in Chinese and Indian weddings.
Tan did not give a reason for the divorce rate going up in the report. Tan and other ministry officials could not be reached for comment.
