Officials suggest legislators wed single mothers

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian legislators in the poor conservative Muslim northeastern state of Kelantan should marry single mothers to help care for their children, a state representative suggested.

The state's family and health committee chairwoman Wan Ubaidah Omar said that legislators should be awarded prizes for increasing their "quota" of wives.

"What I mean by quota is adding to the number of wives," Wan Ubaidah, a female legislator said, according to Thursday's Star newspaper.

Polygamy is legal in Malaysia for Muslims, who account for 55 percent of the 28 million population.

According to the Star there are 16,500 single mothers under 60 years of age.

(Reporting by David Chance; Editing by Miral Fahmy)