Keysar Trad has campaigned for legal recognition of polygamous marriage on Crikey. And I didn’t exactly hold back in expressing my disagreement.

But despite this history, my motivation for revisiting the issue now is concern for Keysar’s wellbeing, after reading a Sisters In Islam report on opendemocracy on polygamy in Malaysia.

Sisters in Islam found that polygamous marriages had negative effects on all family members involved – men, women and children. My concern for Keysar’s health arises from this quote from a Malaysian husband who was finding it – er – “hard to keep up?” with the demands of polygamy:

Before I took another wife, our sexual relations had waned a bit but as soon as I got married she is making more demands and I’m getting exhausted and I think it’s affecting my heart problem.

Give up the polygamy campaign, Keysar – your heart may be in it, but that doesn’t mean that your heart is up to it.