On Labour Day earlier at the start of the month, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced over 13% salary increment for civil servants involving RM10 billion fund, the highest in Malaysian history!
Following the announcement, some Malaysians expressed their concerns that the increment may mean that prices of goods will rise too, something that CUEPACS hope won’t happen.
Civil service salary increase = Dowry increase? ?
Well, the cost of 1 thing did go up as a result of the civil service salary increment, though it’s specific to this Malaysian couple who are planning to get married soon.
Going viral online, the man in the relationship, a 31-year-old government employee anonymously shared how his fiancé’s parents arbitrarily increased the ‘hantaran‘ or dowry for the wedding by RM4,000.
Sent to X (formerly Twitter) user @meinmokhtar who shared the anonymous message on the platform, the post has since garnered over 3,900 likes and 1,300 reposts.
The couple is getting married this December
The man shared that he’s already engaged and is set to marry his fiancé this December. At first, his future parents-in-law asked for RM14,000 as dowry.
However, following Anwar’s announcement of the wage hike for the civil service, his fiancé’s parents suddenly changed their mind and increased the dowry to RM18,000.
In the message, he vented his frustrations on the matter, asserting,
“I’m so stressed. Even had an argument with my fiancé about this. I feel like this relationship won’t go anywhere.”
Malaysians share their opinions on the situation
In the comments section, many Malaysians shared their 2 cents on the matter and advised the man on the appropriate thing to do next.
One commenter said that in this case, the fiancé’s parents are “on the desperate side” and told the man that the final decision is in his hands on whether to proceed with the marriage.
Meanwhile, another commenter advised the man to just leave the relationship as there are many other women out there.
They added that when you get married, you’ll have to deal with your spouse’s family and if the parents acted like this before the marriage, imagine the things that may happen after tying the knot.
So, what do you guys make of the whole situation? What would you do if you were in the anonymous man’s shoes? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!