KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - The Public Complaints Bureau has had to handle some of the strangest matters - from personal family issues to looking for a suitable husband.

Deputy Minister in Prime Minister's Department Datuk T. Murugiah, who is in charge of the bureau said the most peculiar complaint was from a man in his 50s who wanted to know if he could marry his daughter-in-law in order to keep his dying son's property within the family.

"The son, who in his 30s, was bedridden and had only about three days to live. He had a lot of property under his name so the father was worried that his son's wife would marry someone else and take away his wealth.

"So in order to safeguard the property, the family planned for a marriage between the father and the daughter-in-law," he told The Star when met at the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman's Graphic Design and Multimedia Graduates Exhibition 2011 at Central Market here on Wednesday.

Murugiah said the father had asked him if the law permitted him to marry his daughter-in-law.

"I told him that it was not in my place to reply," he said.

The deputy minister said he had once also been approached by a 52-year-old woman who wanted the bureau to help her find a husband.

It is learnt that while the bureau welcomed public complaints, it was not the appropriate body to address personal family matters and court cases.

Murugiah said most complaints related to rubbish collection, road potholes and abandoned housing projects.

"Such issues constitute about 60% of the total number of complaints. Last year, we received over 16,000 complaints from around the country and managed to resolve 96% of this," he said.