The Malaysian Insight

A NEW set of guidelines for marriages involving underage Muslims will be introduced by the Shariah Department of Justice (JKSM) and will be applied across-the-board for all states.

According to the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry’s political secretary Rodziah Ismail, the guidelines will be reviewed and enforced by the department for all Muslim marriages involving minors.

“So the standard operating procedure (SOP) is only for Muslim children. I am informed that the SOP was previously there in certain states, some have, some don’t have this SOP and it is not standard across all states.

“But now we were informed by JKSM, there will be a SOP across all states,” she said.

Rodziah said all questions regarding the new SOP should be addressed to the department as Muslim child marriages did not fall under the purview of her ministry.

“In Malaysia, there are Muslim and non-Muslim marriages. For Muslims, it is under the state Islamic enactment (managed by the states).

“So, any question on the SOP may be forwarded to the Shariah Department of Justice,” she said.

She added that minister, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, is still committed to raising the minimum age for child marriage from 16 to 18 across the nation but would need time for it.

“There is a long way to go, we have to pass the law.

“Of course, to change it to 18 years old, we need to discuss with other parties, because it is an inter-agency problem.”

A rubber trader from Gua Musang recently married an 11-year-old in southern Thailand and his second wife lodged a police report over it.

He was fined RM1,800 by a Kelantan shariah court.

Many outraged Malaysians accused the government of not doing enough in the case. – July 11, 2018.