Kelantan received 15 child marriage applications last year

KOTA BARU: The Kelantan syariah court received 15 applications for marriages involving minors last year.

Ten applications were approved, said Kelantan Syariah Court Department’s High Court judge Datuk Abu Bakar Abdullah Kutty.

He said the five remaining applications were rejected for various reasons, including failing to turn up in court.

“There are three lifestyle categories, which are rural, suburban and city.

“In the rural category, most of the girls do not go to school, so those aged 15 and below here cannot be likened to minors who live in the city.

“Minors in the city usually attend school from Year One to Year Six and they have the potential to further their studies to a higher level.”

Abu Bakar said this after attending a forum on marriages involving minors at the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Kubang Kerian Medical Campus here yesterday.

The forum, attended by 200 participants, was earlier officiated by USM Kubang Kerian Medical Campus director Prof Datuk Dr Ahmad Sukari Halim.

Abu Bakar said they did not encourage marriage at young age as complications could arise, ranging from household management to stifling economic opportunities.

“The Saudi Arabian government, for example, had last January banned marriages of couples aged 15 and below, and court approval is needed for couples aged 18 and below.

“In Malaysia, however, we give room to those aged 15 and below to marry, provided they receive court approval.

“We leave it to the government to decide if there are grounds to ban marriages of those aged 15 and below.

“If we can enact anti-smoking laws, then surely we can enact regulations on the minimum marriage age based on requirements.”