THE Women, Family and Community Development Ministry (KPWKM) is seeking additional funding to expand legal assistance for women and single mothers facing financial constraints in pursuing their rights, particularly in cases involving unpaid court-ordered mut’ah and child maintenance.
Its Minister, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, said such assistance was crucial for women who had secured court orders but were still unable to obtain payments from their former husbands.
In the context of Malaysian Syariah law, “mut’ah” is a form of financial compensation that a husband may be ordered to pay to his former wife following a divorce.
She said some former wives wanted to pursue their legal rights but lacked the financial means to engage lawyers for follow-up action.
“Sometimes the court has already made a decision, for example, ordering the payment of mut’ah compensation or child maintenance, but the former husband still fails to make the payment.
“The former wife may then want to pursue her rights, but financial constraints become an obstacle. This is one of the roles we undertake to help them,” she said.
Nancy said KPWKM, through the Women’s Development Department (JPW), also worked with the Syariah Courts, counselling divisions, as well as syarie and civil lawyers to guide women on the legal action available to them.
She said some cases remained pending and had yet to be fully resolved, making it important for relevant data to be recorded so that appropriate follow-up measures could be planned.
She added that the legal assistance formed part of the Government’s efforts to ensure women, single mothers and children were not left without adequate protection or access to their rights.
“We hope that additional budget allocations can be secured to help women, families and children.
“This effort covers the entire country, and we want to ensure that assistance can continue to be provided to those who genuinely need it,” she said.
Nancy said the cost of providing assistance in future would depend on the amount of funding approved, as the requirements varied from case to case, including case management, travel to court and legal fees.
She added that KPWKM also aimed to strengthen women’s economic empowerment through skills training to help them become financially independent and generate income, while improving their awareness of their legal rights.
She was speaking to reporters after officiating the 2026 Sabah-level Kasih Ibu Tunggal (KasihnITA) programme at the Ming Garden Hotel in Kota Kinabalu yesterday. - August 17, 2026
