Malaysia’s first astronaut Datuk Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor has drawn mixed reaction from netizens for his ‘tips’ on how to convince a reluctant wife to have more kids.
In his Facebook post, he shared a picture of his family of eight and wrote that he has always loved having a big family.
“I have always loved a big family and naturally I wanted more… but first I need to convince Dr Halina, after all, it’s her body,” he said.
The couple have been married since 2010 and have 6 children together — 2 girls, aged 11 and 9; 2 identical twin boys, aged 5; and a second pair of fraternal twins, aged 1.
He went on sharing the things he would do to try to convince his wife to have more children. The list included:
- I will take care of everything while you just rest
- You look beautiful as ever even with 6 kids
- Don’t you want to see more beautiful kids?
- They will take care of us when we grow old
- We won’t be lonely later
- The chaos keeps you young
- It’s Sunnah to ramaikan Ummah
- Let’s go shopping and buy whatever you desire
- The more the merrier
- We grow old together till Jannah. Will love you till eternity no matter what your decision…
“Above are some tips to daddies who want to convince their reluctant wife on having more kids. Does mine work? I think so and I hope so,” he wrote.
If your wife does not want more children then a husband should respect that. Fullstop!
— Dr Nadia Ghazali (@nnadiagee) March 20, 2022
The post received mixed reactions from netizens with many disagreeing with Sheikh because they felt that he was trying to coerce his wife into getting pregnant repeatedly.
“If your wife does not want more children then a husband should respect that. Fullstop!” a netizen shared.
Another netizen called him vile for gaslighting his reluctant wife who’s already given birth to so many kids.
4 and 5 🚩🚩 Anak-anak bukan insurans hari tua. Mereka tak minta dilahirkan untuk berhutang budi. Kita yang bertanggungjawab atas hari tua kita nanti. Mereka hanya bantu sebab tanggungjawab utama mereka nanti ialah uruskan keluarga/anak-anak mereka sendiri.
— zuwwue (@juraikha) March 20, 2022
One netizen then pointed out that his 4th and 5th points are a red flag as he should not regard children as “insurance” when parents reach old age. “Children are not born to be indebted to their parents as it is the parents’ responsibility to take care of their children.”
On contrary, some supported him and said that his tips would work. A netizen said that as long as he can afford it and does not abandon his wife to take care of his children, and can give his children proper education then why not.
“I don’t mind having lots of kids if my husband can take care of everything A+++++++,” another netizen said.
What do you think of his tips? Share your thoughts in the comment section.