KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 — Pakatan Harapan (PH) Youth leader Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad urged the government today to set 18 as the minimum age of marriage, after reports that a 41-year-old married an 11-year-old girl.
Nik Nazmi, who is Setiawangsa MP, said if the latest case involving a Kelantanese man and a Thai national who reportedly wed in Thailand did not follow procedure, the marriage violated Islamic family law.
“The law is still too vague as it allows exceptions of ‘court permission’ for Muslim couples and ‘Chief Minister’s permission’ for non-Muslim couples, which creates the perception that underage marriage is acceptable,” Nik Nazmi tweeted.
“Banning underage child marriages must be prioritised.”
The legal age of marriage for non-Muslims is 18 for both genders, but a girl aged 16 can be legally married if the state chief minister/ mentri besar or in the case of the federal territories, its minister, authorises it by granting a licence. But non-Muslims cannot get married below 16.
As for Muslims, the minimum legal age for marriage in the states’ Islamic family laws is 18 and 16 for a male and female respectively, but those below these ages can still marry if they get the consent of a Shariah judge. There is no minimum age of marriage for Muslims.
