Of Floods and Families: PAS’s Unconventional Strategies of Monsoon Tourism and Polygamy to Weather Malaysia’s Challenges

By Mihar Dias November 2024

As Kelantan braces for its annual monsoon deluge, the PAS-led government is turning to unorthodox solutions for two of the nation’s most pressing concerns: flood management and demographic challenges.

On one hand, there’s the idea of transforming floods into a tourism opportunity.

On the other, polygamy has been floated as a solution to Malaysia’s declining birth rate.

Both proposals have raised eyebrows—and questions about their practicality, ethics, and broader implications.

Tourism During Floods: Turning Disaster into a Spectacle

Kelantan’s annual floods are no minor inconvenience. With over 77,000 victims affected in recent incidents, the devastation brings loss of homes, lives, and livelihoods.

Yet, the Kelantan government envisions an opportunity amidst the chaos: monsoon tourism. Surfing events at Pantai Kemayan, culinary festivals featuring Kelantan’s famed cuisine, and hotel packages for adventurous travelers are some of the ideas being promoted.

While the initiative aims at generating income for flood-affected communities, it risks trivialising the lived experience of disaster victims. Tourists seeking excitement or Instagram-worthy moments may find themselves navigating not just waves but also the ethical dilemmas of disaster voyeurism.

Moreover, the plan raises practical concerns: Are the state’s resources better spent on attracting surfers or building resilient flood defenses? Will tourism dollars truly trickle down to the most vulnerable, or will the spectacle benefit a select few?

The idea’s novelty is undeniable. Countries like Iceland have capitalied on natural challenges like volcanic activity to boost tourism. But there’s a critical difference: Iceland ensures visitor safety while maintaining dignity for affected residents. Kelantan’s challenge will be to balance these dynamics in a way that doesn’t exploit suffering or deflect from the urgent need for long-term flood mitigation.

Polygamy as a Solution to a Declining Birth Rate

Meanwhile, PAS lawmakers like Datuk Rosol Wahid have turned their attention to a different crisis: Malaysia’s declining birth rate, which has dropped from 2.1 children per woman in 2010 to 1.6 in 2020. His suggestion? Encourage polygamy to boost population growth.

While Rosol’s argument hinges on demographic trends and economic productivity, it ignores the complex socio-economic factors behind low birth rates. Young Malaysians are delaying or forgoing marriage due to rising living costs, career pressures, and a lack of affordable childcare—not because polygamy isn’t incentivized.

The proposal also risks alienating women, who already bear the brunt of unpaid domestic labour and child-rearing responsibilities. Introducing state-supported polygamy could exacerbate gender inequities and reduce marriage to a utilitarian means of producing more citizens.

Countries with similar demographic concerns, such as Japan and South Korea, have chosen to tackle the issue with policies that address the root causes: subsidised childcare, paid parental leave, and affordable housing. If Malaysia is to follow suit, the focus should be on creating a supportive environment for all families, not promoting a practice that may be culturally divisive and socially regressive.

The Bigger Picture: Priorities and Political Calculations

Both proposals highlight PAS’s penchant for turning to traditional or unconventional solutions to address modern problems. While there’s merit in creative thinking, the practicality of these ideas leaves much to be desired.

Monsoon tourism, if mishandled, risks commodifying disaster, while state-endorsed polygamy could deepen gender inequalities without addressing the real barriers to marriage and parenthood.

More disturbingly, these proposals distract from the structural issues that underpin both crises. Flood management requires significant investment in infrastructure, drainage systems, and climate resilience.

Declining birth rates demand a comprehensive approach to affordability and work-life balance. These are not problems that can be solved with quick fixes or headline-grabbing ideas.

As the monsoon clouds gather, one wonders if these unconventional solutions are truly meant to address Kelantan’s and Malaysia’s challenges—or simply to divert attention from the lack of substantive progress.

https://newswav.com/article/kelantan-state-govt-suggests-turning-floods-into-tourist-attraction-to-attr-A2411_HuUZiv?s=A_kX04dKY&language=en

https://newswav.com/article/pas-calls-on-malaysian-government-to-promote-polygamy-as-a-strategy-to-incr-A2411_FewqrG?s=A_h3O5Cji&language=en

Mihar Dias is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!

The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.