Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) executive director Latheefa Koya rejected Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s remark that the marriage between the 15-year-old bride and a man 30 years her senior in the latest Kelantan case was "consensual”, calling this unacceptable and "breathtakingly irresponsible.” "The continued failure to take action against perverted sex predators who use marriage as a licence to have sex with children is turning Malaysia into a haven for paedophiles. "We urge the Women’s Ministry to take immediate steps to protect and counsel the child; and we further call upon the IGP to order a criminal investigation into sexual grooming against the 44 year old perpetrator,” Latheefa said in a statement. She pointed out that no child can legally consent to marriage, and questioned whether the DPM’s conclusions were drawn from a "one-day ‘investigation’ by some random officials from the Women’s Ministry. " "The 15 year old victim urgently needs care, counselling and support. A public statement from the Minister whitewashing the ‘marriage’ does not help the child at all. "Now that the DPM claims the child had consented, the question remains as to what happens next. Will there be any further action? Or will the child be left to rot away in this ‘marriage’, her future bleak and devastated?” she asked, Latheefa also asked whether any action will be taken against the husband in the case. In a separate statement, Selangor DAP Wanita’s deputy chairman Sangeet Kaur Deo also called Dr Wan Azizah’s remarks unacceptable, adding it should be "strongly condemned.” She said that while state Shariah laws allowed for the marriage of girls under the age of 16, it is a "deplorable practice” which should not be allowed to continue. Sangeet also said that the government has failed to address the matter, and that such practice is nothing more than the "back-door legalising of paedophilia” in Malaysia. "The Pakatan Harapan is in power in eight out of 13 states in this country. There is nothing stopping PH states from tabling motions in each of those eight states to make the necessary amendments to the Shariah law in those states. "It could not be clearer that the government simply lacks the political will to do so,” she said. Dr Wan Azizah, who is also the women, family and community development minister said based on the findings made by Social Welfare Department officers who met the family, the marriage was allegedly based on a "mutual liking” between the minor and the 44-year-old man. The legal age of consent for sex in Malaysia is 16. Dr Wan Azizah reiterated that the ministry is working on increasing the minimum age of marriage to 18-years-old. On Monday, the Pandan MP said the federal government does not have the jurisdiction to intervene in the latest case of the child bride in Kelantan. She said the federal government must abide the decision of the state Shariah court that allowed the minor’s marriage. It was said that the Muslim solemnisation of vows — between the man, who is a member of the People’s Volunteer Corp (Rela), and the 15-year-old who is a secondary school dropout — was done in July at the Masjid Kampung Laut in Tumpat, Kelantan. The Shariah court had approved the marriage between the girl, who is the youngest daughter of a poor couple with 13 children, and the 44-year-old man, who already has two children. In June, a 41-year-old Malaysian rubber tapper had married an 11-year-old Thai Muslim girl — with the latter being his daughter’s friend. The Thai child was made his third wife against the wishes of his first and second wife.