KOTA BARU: The strict conditions imposed by Yala Islamic religious authorities have resulted in many Malaysian men preferring to go to Narathiwat province to either marry or engage in polygamy.
Yala Islamic Religious Council deputy president, Nik Mohd Amin Yusof, said Malaysian men also preferred to go to Narathiwat because it was closer to Kelantan.
"Although Yala is among the three provinces in southern Thailand, many Malaysian men and their brides-to-be prefer to go to Narathiwat and Songkhla to get married, as Yala requires them to adhere to certain regulations.
"Among them are that they need to get approval from the religious departments in their respective states to get married outside of the country.
"Couples also need to bring the certificates from their marriage courses that they have attended if they want to tie the knot in the Yala central mosque."
Besides Narathiwat, Amin said Malaysian couples also preferred to travel to Songkhla to tie the knot.
"They can take a flight there directly from Bangkok."
Asked about the number of Malaysian couples who tied the knot in Yala, he said: "We recorded less than five Malaysian couples who married in Yala in a month, compared to around 30 couples in Narathiwat."
On another note, he said there were also Malaysian men who chose to take Thai women as their spouses.