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About 2.5 million Malaysians aged 25 and above are unmarried, mainly due to financial problems and lack of suitable partners, the latest survey showed Wednesday. Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Heng Seai Kie was quoted by local media as telling the upper house of parliament that among the 2.5 million Malaysian who remained single, 60.4 percent were men and 39.6 percent women, according to the country's Population and Housing Census in 2010. 44.7 percent of the male respondents listed financial problems as the main reason to remain single, followed by lack of suitable candidate, career concerns and family commitment, among others. Meanwhile, 40 percent of women cited lack of eligible suitors as their main obstacle to tie the knot. They also mentioned financial problems, career, comfort in being single, family commitment among other reasons to remain unmarried. The census also shows that the average age men first got married was 28 in 2010 compared with 28.6 in 2000. For women, it increased to 25.7 in 2010 compared with 25.1 a decade ago. Heng said that although the ministry took the issue seriously, it had no plans to start an online dating service, as this was already being done by private companies, non-governmental organizations, religious bodies and some political parties.

Financial problems force 2.5 million Malaysians remain unmarried