KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — Foreigners in Malaysia on a temporary work permit have been given the greenlight by Islamic authorities in two states to marry locals despite an immigration law barring such marriages, a report said.

Selangor Islamic Religious Department director Datuk Haris Kasim said it applied the same conditions for migrant workers marrying Malaysians as when local get married to each other, Malay daily Berita Harian reported today.

"Foreigners that want to marry with locals have to prepare complete basic documents such as visa, pass, and letter proclaiming conversion to Islam first, so that the marriage can be registered in this country,” he was quoted saying.

"The conditions for marriage do not mention nationality, there are no obstacles if they comply with the conditions for marriage and the documents are certified by those who are qualified.

"Foreigners are also not required to attend or have a pre-marital certificate,” he added.

Pahang Mufti Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Osman reportedly said there are no obstructions for any individuals that wish to marry to avoid vice, adding that marriages are valid if they comply with Islamic laws.

"Usually, the religious authorities will ask for the couple to settle the issue of documentation before the marriage is carried out. Failure to do so will affect the status and citizenship of their child in this country,” he was quoted saying.

The newspaper however said that the Immigration Act 1959/63 disallows migrant workers with the Temporary Employment Pass from marrying locals. Disobeying this law would result in the revocation of the pass, and deportation to their countries of origin.

They would only be able to marry locals six months later by re-entering Malaysia using a social visit pass, the report said.

The report said at least two state Islamic authorities do not follow the immigration law, noting that this facilitates marriages between foreign workers and locals which then results in a list of problems, including divorce, bankruptcy over unpaid loans, and children with illegitimate status when the migrant's work permit is cancelled.

The newspaper also claimed that migrant workers desperate to continue staying in Malaysia are resorting to marrying Malaysian women, with the belief that they will be able to enjoy the full benefits according to citizens and also with the intention of using their local spouses' status to get loans and business licences.

The newspaper interviewed a 35-year-old civil servant who said she now has to pay off a RM100,000 loan by her runaway Arab spouse, who has since returned to Malaysia to use the same "tactic” on other local women.

"My husband's targets are civil servants who can take out loans easily, or women from dignitaries,” she was quoted saying.

Another interviewee, Zarina Ismail, said she had left her two children from her first marriage to focus on a business with her Bangladeshi foreign worker spouse and was asked to be the guarantor for the business.

While the business was successful with two branches open, the earnings were not shared and her husband had instead used the profits to help his fellow nationals enter the country illegally, the 47-year-old was reported saying.

Zarina, who has no savings, said she is now left with RM200,000 in debt and that her husband is now using the same tactic on other local women after she maxed out on her credit card limit.

Another local woman said she quit her job to help out in the business by her Pakistani husband who came here as a foreign worker, but is now left with debts worth hundreds of thousands ringgit after the business shuttered in a year. Their two children were not given citizenship status as her husband's passport expired two years ago.

According to BH, the Department of Syariah Judiciary Malaysia's (JKSM) statistics show that there were 4,503 divorces or annulment of marriages between foreign and local Muslims recorded for the 2014-2016 period, with 1,448 cases in 2014, 1,541 cases in 2015 and 1,514 cases in 2016.

The states with the highest number of such cases during the three-year period were Sabah (1,067), Selangor (934), and Kuala Lumpur (586).

A JKSM spokesman said the statistics were for foreigners that only hold a passport.