KUALA LUMPUR: The marriage between an 11-year-old girl and a 41-year-old man in Kelantan is illegal, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
She said this was because the marriage had not received the consent of the syariah court as the girl was under the minimum legal age for marriage.
“The marriage is illegal and they must be separated,” she said after officiating a Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house with 2,000 asnaf orphans organised by Insaf Malaysia at the Setiawangsa Mini Stadium here yesterday.
Present were Setiawangsa member of parliament Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and Insaf Malaysia president Ishak Abdul Kadir.
According to the Islamic Family Law Enactment, the minimum legal age for marriage is 18 for a male and 16 for a female. Those under the legal minimum age will be permitted to get married only if they get the consent of the syariah court and their parents.
The issue of child marriage once again came into the spotlight after the news of the man who took the girl 30 years younger than him as his third wife went viral.
Initial investigations by the Kelantan Welfare Department found that the marriage took place in Golok, Thailand, and the girl’s parents were said to be Thai nationals.
Dr Wan Azizah said the government would amend the Child Act 2016 and the Islamic Family Enactment to raise the minimum marriage age for women from 16 to 18.
She said the amendments would ensure the protection of children’s rights.
Dr Wan Azizah, who is women, family and community development minister, said this would help address the problem of child marriages.
She said she would meet officials from the Welfare Department to discuss the issue.
“Underage marriage is among the problems we face today. The (present) Child Act (amended 2018) ensures that children are cared for and protected under Section 17 (of the Act).”
She referred to a proviso from the section, which ensured such protection “in the best interest of the child”.
Dr Wan Azizah noted that the girl’s marriage must be looked at from other angles, such as poverty and pressure from employment.
“Why did the father allow his daughter to get married (to the 41-year-old man)?
“Was it because the one who was wooing (the girl) happened to be an employer (of the girl’s family member)?”
She said the girl was wooed twice and that the latter’s mother had cautioned the man that the girl was too young and asked for the marriage to be consummated only when she turns 16.
She noted that the elder brother of the girl was beset with juvenile problems, which indicated the complexity of the issue.
She said the matter must be approached holistically as it went beyond separating the child from the man and the possible imposition of a RM1,000 fine and six months’ jail.
“Paedophilia, child exploitation, child pornography... We must be firm on this as children are our responsibility.”
Dr Wan Azizah said an officer from the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry had gone to meet the man yesterday but he could not be found. The officer instead met the girl’s mother.
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