‘Counselling can help couples better understand each other'
Its president Muhamad Hisham Marzuki said counselling can be an alternative platform to help resolve problems within the family such as financial management, respect for each other, health, relationships between in-laws and issues involving religion and morals.
'On domestic violence, there are many factors that contribute to it, and not just the religious background.
ALSO READ: Guidance for a stable marriage
'The issue can stem from family background, upbringing, financial constraints, environment and even exposure to social media culture,' he said.
On the importance of existing pre-marriage courses for Muslims, Muhamad Hisham said it was to prepare couples for marriage and help them think maturely on decisions that will have to be made post-marriage.
He said various modules have been formulated to help couples in dealing with family and household matters.
The Archdiocesan Mental Health Ministry suggested that pre-marriage counselling help couples understand each other based on personal values, beliefs, individual goals and future planning.
It said this was because both partners have to be aligned or understand where they differ to have a deep conversation about faith, children, financial planning, family roles and spiritual life.
'Pre-marriage counselling is very important as it helps couples identify differences, talk about expectations and learn how to resolve disagreements in healthy, faith-based ways,' it added.
It said couples could attend counselling for communication breakdown, financial difficulties, intimacy issues or even personal mental health issues like depression or anxiety.
'However, it is imperative to know that the counselling process will only work if both the couple and therapist are emotionally open to listening and learning,' it added.
Asked if pre-marriage courses should be made mandatory, it said that while it cannot be forced upon, it was highly encouraged as a form of investment into the relationship.
The Catholic Church offers a course called the Catholic Marriage Preparation Course (CMPC), where couples attend courses for up to seven weekends before their wedding.
Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism president Tan Hoe Chieow said having a compulsory pre-marriage course was not a 'guarantee' that issues being faced by a couple would be resolved.
He said for non-Muslims, putting another condition prior to marriage might hinder more of them from taking the plunge.
'This pre-marriage course was brought up many years ago and we had rejected it as we did not know if it would be effective.
'There is also the question of attendance.
'So, we objected to it. But if a particular religious group wants a pre-marriage course, it is up to them,' he added.
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It's the best here,' says Dr Ainu Husna MS Suhaimi, principal research officer of advanced and reproductive technologies at Mardi. 'Now in Malaysia, we are realising that our local animals are still the most sustainable.' The Katjang's physical traits are distinct. Other than their small size, they have sleek black and/or dark brown coats, short and tapered upright ears, and straight and tapered upright horns. Adult males typically weigh under 30kg, far less than the imported Boer or Jamnapari goats, which can reach twice that size. Although the Katjang breed is very fertile, with twin births, its milk production is only enough for the kids. It is slower to grow to full size, and is not very meaty. Because of these perceived disadvantages, the Katjang was gradually sidelined. Kamal remembers when he first established his farm in 1985, he only raised Katjang goats. 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Any pure Katjang goats that remained were used again and again, causing inbreeding and resulting in smaller and unhealthy goats. Following a survey conducted by the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) from 2001 to 2002, the Katjang was classified as being at risk of extinction, and the United Nations (UN)'s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) listed its status as 'unknown'. Other local breeds of livestock are also facing extinction, including the 'KK' (Kedah-Kelantan) cow, while one breed may be extinct. Mardi believes that the indigenous 'Malin' sheep (Ovis aries) is extinct as a breed. Over two decades later, the Katjang's current numbers are unknown. Mardi has a herd of about 100 Katjang goats at its farm in Kluang, Johor, and its researchers are always on the search for more. 'Small goat, big role' At first glance, saving the Katjang might seem odd as it is a livestock breed, reared to be eaten. After all, if one breed of goat is extinct, can't Malaysia just get other goats from elsewhere? Livestock experts say it is not that simple. Although the goat industry is small in Malaysia, there is a consistent market for it, especially among Muslims and Hindus. Muslims sacrifice goats and distribute the meat, called mutton in Malaysia, during religious events like 'qurban' during Hari Raya Aidiladha (haj season) and 'aqiqah', which is to celebrate births; while Hindus, who refrain from eating beef, consume mutton as their red meat. In 2023, the consumption of mutton, which includes goat and sheep meat, had increased to 1.4kg per capita from 1kg in 2022, while Malaysia's self-sufficiency rate of the meat was 8.7 per cent, a drop from 10.7 per cent recorded in the previous year. Malaysia spent RM8.5 million importing live goats and RM18.62 million on live sheep in 2023, and RM772.4 million on fresh, frozen and processed mutton. Market analysts predict goat meat will become more popular in the next decade as more people will seek it for its leanness and other nutritional benefits. Depending on imports to meet food demand leaves Malaysia vulnerable to any shocks to the supply chain, as the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and recently, the India-Pakistan tensions showed. Meanwhile, local goat production is hampered by expensive feed, veterinary costs and a high mortality rate. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) ecological geneticist Dr Shairah Abdul Razak tells Bernama that the Malaysian livestock industry has been too focused on profits and higher meat yield, without considering issues like the impact of climate change on livestock. 'If we bring, like, sheep that have lots of meat from temperate countries, can they withstand (the heat)? 'Do you want to provide, you know, coolant for them the whole time you put them in the barn, for example?' she says. 'In terms of nutrients, one of the important things about local breeds is that they are not very (choosy).' Dr Shairah highlights some points during the Bernama interview. — Bernama photo Researchers fear the Katjang will go the way of the Malin sheep, characterised by its light brown coarse wool, which they believe has been cross-bred to extinction. However, Dr Shairah thinks there may be a few pure-bred Malin sheep somewhere in Perak and Pahang. '(Saving local breeds of livestock) is a form of – I like to use the word insurance; you know, you might not see it (benefits) right now, but you have to think for the long term. 'We want the resilience and the sustainability for the long term.' DVS researcher and geneticist Dr Ernie Muneerah Mohd Adnan agrees. 'The Katjang goat may not match imported breeds in terms of size or meat production, but in the context of climate change, its adaptability to these changes could become critical for the future of Malaysia's livestock industry,' she writes in an email to Bernama. The FAO reported that as at March 2018, 594 local agricultural breeds out of the 7,745 local breeds listed were extinct, while 26 per cent were considered 'at risk of extinction' and 67 per cent as having 'unknown' status. Should they disappear, so will the genetic traits needed to adapt to new environmental and economic realities. 'Malaysianised goat' The core of the Katjang rescue mission lies in a growing effort to locate and collect the DNA of pure Katjang goats. The project combines old-fashioned legwork and husbandry with modern reproductive methods and genetic science. Dr Ainu Husna's team has been fanning out across rural areas in Peninsular Malaysia, visiting livestock farms and Orang Asli villages. When they spot an animal that looks promising, which is rare, they usually purchase the animals for their farm in Johor, collect samples and sequence their genome for desirable genetic markers. Those with the desired traits will be used for selective breeding with other breeds, in the hopes of producing bigger and meatier, but also heat-tolerant and disease-resistant Katjang hybrids. Under the Katjang rescue mission, Dr Ainu Husna's team has been fanning out across the rural areas in Peninsular Malaysia, visiting livestock farms and Orang Asli villages Dr Ainu Husna. — Bernama photo 'We decided we need to have something in the middle,' she says. 'Now, we are developing our pure Katjang-Boer mix or Malaysianised Boer. (For that) we need pure Katjang.' The selective cross-breeding programme utilises natural and artificial fertilisation methods, using semen or eggs stored in liquid nitrogen. In general, Dr Ainu Husna says Mardi prefers to use natural breeding as it tends to be more successful, with an 80 per cent success rate. But if that is not possible, then researchers will use artificial insemination or in-vitro fertilisation. The DVS also has a biobank of Katjang sperm samples. Having a ready supply of pure Katjang is necessary to refresh the genetic makeup of the Malaysianised Boer after several generations. It is an expensive and time-consuming process, but one that could safeguard the breed and the country's long-term food security. 'We might not see the challenge now, but as time goes by, the future might bring something that we are not prepared for if we don't have this,' says Dr Shairah, who is a senior lecturer at UKM. 'Lack of awareness' Despite the urgency, the Katjang conservation project faces daunting barriers. Researchers tell Bernama they have trouble getting funding or cooperation for conservation efforts because people, including farmers, do not understand the importance of saving local livestock breeds too, not just wildlife. Without financial incentives or market demand for pure Katjang, most smallholders will not choose a smaller, slower-growing goat over a meatier import. 'Farmers often find it more profitable to raise imported or cross-bred goats rather than pure-bred Katjang goats,' says Dr Ernie Muneerah. A few have floated the idea of subsidising farmers to not cross-breed their Katjang and keeping a registry of farmers with pure Katjang, which they can exchange for breeding. All parties want to fix the disconnect between scientists and farmers, and encourage farmers to use available resources such as Mardi and DVS to breed their livestock. Meanwhile, under the glare of the late afternoon sun in Rembau, Kamal pours a bucket of feed into a blue trough. The goats shuffle over, nudging each other gently. He watches them for a moment, thoughtful. They may be tiny, but these goats are tough, he says. 'When it comes to changes, whether climate or something else, I think the Katjang goat will definitely survive.' — Bernama
