Malaysian feminist groups are up in arms against a new regulation in northern Perlis state that allows Muslim men to marry up to four wives without the written permission of the first wife.
They have locked horns with the powerful ulamas, or religious clerics, who approved the rule last week. Opponents say men from across the country will flock to the state to take advantage of the law change, which would encourage promiscuity and break up families.
Previously, Muslim men who want to marry again have flocked to southern Thailand, where the written permission of the first wife is not required.
Opponents of the new rule question the clerics' interpretation of sharia law, which they say means that Muslim opponents can be labelled a kafir or an unbeliever.
Clerics have demanded action against several newspaper columnists who have rejected their interpretation of the Koran.
Ruzana Udin, the programme co-ordinator of Sisters-in-Islam, a vocal women's group that fights the clerics for greater freedom for Muslim women, said freedom of expression in Islam meant tenets should be applied according to changing circumstances.
