KUALA LUMPUR, May 3: Malaysia may require women to obtain family consent before allowing them to travel alone outside the country, state news agency Bernama reported on Saturday, quoting the foreign minister.

The foreign and home ministries are considering the idea in response to a string of cases where women travelling alone were used by international drug syndicates to smuggle drugs across borders, Foreign Minister Rais Yatim was quoted as saying.

Bernama portrayed the proposal as an anti-crime measure rather than a religiously inspired idea.—Reuters