KOTA BARU: The Sungai Golok imam who solemnised (akad nikah) nuptials of a Malaysian politician with his third wife online, has been suspended from work.
Narathiwat Islamic Council vice-president Abdul Aziz Che Mamat said the six-month suspension on the 65-year-old imam began in June, the same month the politician with a 'Datuk' title and his wife were solemnised.
"We have called the imam early this week after he recovered from high fever and he had admitted his mistake.
"Following this, the council had to take disciplinary action against him while we continue to carry out further investigation on the case," he told New Straits Times when contacted today.
To prevent a repeat, Abdul Aziz said the Narathiwat Islamic Council would soon call all the imam stationed in the area which borders Kelantan, to brief them on marriage policies.
"There are between four or five imam appointed by the council in the southern provinces of Thailand bordering Malaysia on the Kelantan side.
"We will call them soon to remind them again about the regulations set by the council. The move is necessary as we do not want the online marriage incident to occur which is not approved by the council," he added.
Abdul Aziz in his previous remarks said that the politician's online marriage did not use the services of a border marriage syndicate.
He said the newly-wed couple, however, used the services of an imam who is also a council committee member.
He said the online solemnisation was not approved by the council in the Thai province and believed the case was an isolated one.
The marriage between the Kelantan politician and his bride was allegedly held on June 1 and had since gone viral on social media platforms.
Pictures of the couple's marriage certificate as well as the conversation between the politician and the imam with two other men, believed to be witnesses, were also widely circulated.