Sabah mulls penalties for child marriages
KOTA KINABALU: The new Sabah Laws and Native Affairs Ministry is considering seeking penalties and more drastic action against child marriages in the state, says minister Aidi Mokhtar.
He said a better understanding of the matter is needed following the controversial marriage of an 11-year-old to a 41-year-old man in Kelantan recently.
“We are conducting a study on
Our syariah law at present is clear, whereby it states that the legal marriage age for boys is 18 and girls, 16. So if anyone marries under that age, we may y push for penalties. Aidi Mokhtar
how to refine child marriage laws and requirements that balances religion with civil rights,” he said.
“Our syariah law at present is clear, whereby it states that the legal marriage age for boys is 18 and girls, 16. So if anyone marries under that age, we may push for penalties or other action to be taken,” Aidi said during an event here on Thursday.
He said at present, Muslims wanting to get married younger than at this age must refer to the Syariah Court, get proper advice and counselling, receive physical and mental examination as well as get the consent of their parents.
“For Sabah, we are conducting a study on this. We are discussing, among others, whether there should be amendments to the existing laws,” he said.
Aidi said for Muslims, those who reach puberty are allowed to wed, provided they understand the roles of a marriage.
“If you are 10 or 11 years old, it is not right on humanitarian grounds,” he said without elaborating.
Asked on the statistics of child marriages in Sabah, Aidi said he does not have the numbers, but he believed that a marriage involving an 11-year-old was an isolated case.
In this respect, Aidi suggested for the opening up of agencies wanting to conduct marriage courses for Muslims, saying that Sabah has only one agency that works with the Islamic religious body in conducting marriage courses.
“It would be easier if people have an agency that they can go to at district levels for marriage courses,” Aidi said.