THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - A Malaysian state government fretting about rising divorces said Monday it will offer classes on romance to help Muslim couples stay together - even encourage them to bathe together to promote intimacy.

Officials will hire image consultants to hold workshops providing tips for wives on how to remain attractive, including using perfume and wearing lingerie to spice up their sex life, said Muhammad Ramli Nuh, a lawmaker in northern Terengganu state. Husbands should wear clean pyjamas and reduce body odour.

The state will also invite cosmetics manufacturers to come up with special scents meant to "help sustain the happiness" in marriages, Muhammad Ramli said.

Authorities in the Muslim-majority state are also urging couples to spend as much time together to boost their rapport, including by praying, eating and bathing together.

"Their time together shouldn't only be in the bedroom sleeping," Muhammad Ramli said.

Muhammad Ramli, a top official in the state's Islamic development council, did not immediately have data on divorces in Terengganu, but said it was "becoming a problem that must be tackled."

The suggestion could appear bold in this Muslim-majority, conservative country where people generally do not discuss their private lives openly.