KOTA BARU: Prominent Malaysians, including some with Datuk titles, have sought to conceal their identity when tying the knot in Thailand's southern provinces.
Narathiwat Islamic Religious Council deputy president Abdul Aziz Che Mamat said he believed it happened after the New Straits Times highlighted it two years ago.
"Before this, those with 'Datuk' title will disclose their identities when they register to get married either at our office in Narathiwat or in Sungai Golok town.
"However, since 2022, after it was highlighted in the NST, they have started to hide their identities.
"We believe they do not want people to know about it.
"These individuals prioritise their privacy but our religious officers will discover their identities later," he said.
Aziz said some were willing to travel to Songkhla to tie the knot.
"These days VIPs, celebrities, politicians and wealthy individuals, including those with 'Datuk' title, prefer travelling to Songkhla to marry at the religious council there," he said.
Aziz said that compared with Narathiwat, the number of couples getting married in Songkhla had significantly increased.
It was reported in 2022 that Malaysian men with the title 'Datuk' comprised more than half of the Malaysians who crossed the Malaysia-Thailand border to get hitched in Narathiwat.
The Narathiwat Islamic Religious Council said these people did so as they could not get permission from their first wives back home, which is a prerequisite in Malaysia.
The council's committee member Abdul Rahman Yusof had said these men comprised civil servants, politicians and VIPs.
He said they chose Narathiwat or the Sungai Golok sub-province to take on second or third wives without the knowledge of their spouses.
Rahman said such marriages, especially if they involved VIPs, were fodder for gossip among Thais and Malaysians.
