GEORGE TOWN, July 3 — Putrajaya is hoping to introduce strict guidelines for Shariah courts in relation to marriages involving those under 18 years old, Rodziah Ismail said today.
The political secretary to the women, family and community development minister said the federal government is committed to pushing for the legal age of marriage to be standardised at 18 years.
“By next week, we will pass a paper on the SOP for marriages of those under 18 years and these are tedious guidelines that the Shariah courts must follow before allowing such marriages,” she told reporters during a courtesy visit with the state exco, Chong Eng, and Penang Women Development Corporation here.
The Batu Tiga assemblywoman said the Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has discussed this issue with all parties yesterday.
“They have looked at all aspects, to get a holistic approach and look at all enactments regarding marriage including the child act,” she said.
She said any marriage for those under 18 years must get the consent of the Shariah courts or the chief minister or mentri besar.
“Now, it is not only with consent, but they must also comply with this SOP and both the men and women must go through a test on health, education and well-being to ensure that the family can function as normal,” she said.
“The new SOP will be presented to the Cabinet for approval so we hope to get it approved in two weeks’ time,” she said.
Once the new standard operating procedure (SOP) is enforced, Rodziah said a taskforce to ensure all states in the country adhere to them.
She said it is important to protect children from such marriages especially when there are more than 1,000 applications for under-age marriages in the country in the last five years.
This new SOP came in the wake of the recent uproar over the case of a 41-year-old man who allegedly married an 11-year-old child in Kelantan.
