KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 ― Putrajaya should introduce curbs on child marriages as part of the proposal announced by the prime minister to address sex crimes against minors, said DAP assistant national publicity secretary Teo Nie Ching.
She applauded Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for the initiative, saying it will receive bipartisan support.
But she also complained about the lack of additional details regarding the Bill beyond its announcement.
“However, sadly to say, until today we in opposition are still clueless about the details of the Bill, and we have no idea if child marriage will be covered in the Bill,” she said.
“Even though Section 376 of the Penal Code has criminalised any sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 16, child marriage still takes place in our country,” she added.
She cited a United Nations report in 2010 that stated that 82,000 married women in the country were aged between 15 to 19 years old.
Malaysia adopted a resolution to end child marriage at the UN Human Rights Council in 2013.
“It’s time for our government to honour our pledge and I hope our government will do so when tabling the Bill,” she said.
