Malay Wedding

Last night, I chatted with my friend Paul who asked me about “dowry”. He said that in Thailand, dowry is a part of their traditional culture and it goes to the bride’s parents. I have no idea about that and i certainly won’t comment about something that i’m not familiar BUT for Malay (Muslim), the dowry does exist. It is customary here and may go into thousand of RM; often, taking the form of both cash & jewelry or clothing.

Personally, i don’t really like the idea of the dowry. I wouldn’t practice it on my wedding because i think it’s more to show-off. I have a friends who agree with me on this. I’ll only do “Akad Nikah” which is a must in muslim marriage. The Akad Nikah is actually the marriage contract & a small sum of money called “Mas Kahwin” (in Kuala Lumpur & Selangor, it is RM80 / USD25) seals the contract.

The Akad Nikah ceremony is in effect a verbal contract between the bride’s father, or his representative (in some case the Kadhi) and the groom. The Kadhi is a religious official at the Syariat Court. In the contract, the groom  is reminded that, should he fail to provide both spiritual and physical sustenance for his wife, the marriage may be dissolved if a complaint is made to the Syariat Court.

“The best wedding is that upon which the least trouble and expense is bestowed”