Smelly body odour, humdrum sex and boring pyjamas are behind the high divorce rate in the state of Terengganu and the government is scrambling to find ways to improve sexual relations, especially for newly wed couples.

With three out of 10 marriages breaking up within five years the state government is desperate for solutions - including offering sensuous perfumes and grooming workshops.

State Religious and Information committee deputy chairman Muhammad Ramli Nuh is inviting cosmetic firms to introduce perfumes with exotic fragrances to arouse lost sexual feelings among couples.

The government, he said was looking for suitable beauty consultants to organise grooming and beauty workshops.

Muhammad Ramli said beauty consultants could also suggest the right lingerie for the women to bring the excitement back to the bedrooms.

"The workshops are not only for wives but also to provide tips to husbands on how to be always attractive to their spouses," he said.

The state has already hired marriage counsellors to talk to estranged couples, mostly aged between 25 and 30.

"But we also have to look into the root causes that trigger separations. If it down to smells and dressing, we should find the right solutions and save the marriages," he said.

He said he was bewildered that some couples even blamed their spouses for old-fashioned pyjamas - sarong and t-shirt - body odour during intimate moments made their sex life monotonous or turned them completely off.

On body odours emitted during intimate moments, Muhammad said in one case, a divorce was caused by one spouse's perpetual stench of keropok ikan (fish crackers).

Muhammad Ramli also suggested that couples shower together to make their relationship more exciting.

"I met this elderly couple in Kelantan who bathe together even though they are already grandparents.

"This is why I mooted the idea that this method be introduced as part of pre-marriage courses conducted in the state," he added.