Local men must buck up and improve themselves if they want to marry local women, Women, Family and Community Development Ministry parliamentary secretary Datuk Paduka Chew Mei Fun said.
She said local men should stop complaining they could not secure brides locally and thus had to resort to "foreign mail order schemes" to find their spouse.
"Men in this country need to pay attention to their education in order to improve their standing and bring themselves to the same level as women who are better qualified," she said.
Replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Baharum Mohamed (BN- Sekijang) in Parliament today, she said women here were not interested in marriage even though they had reached their 30s because they could not find suitable spouses who meet their criterias.
"The reason why men in this country have to look for foreign spouses is not because local women do not want to marry but because it is difficult for them to get a suitable partner."
Chew defended local women by saying that many of these women have a steady income and academic achievements that are far superior to that of the single men available.
"We have a situation here...women looking for men who are of equal stature, men who are afraid of successful women. The problem of unmarried women will never be resolved.
"So my advice is that men should concentrate on their education," she said.
To an original question from Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah), Chew said the ministry would not intervene on the matter of men seeking mail order brides.
"So long as the foreign women have the valid travel documents and adhere to our marriage laws, we are okay."
However, she warned that the ministry will come down hard on agents involved in mail order scams resulting in foreign women being forced into illegal activities such as prostitution.
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