JULY 11 — It looks like the man who courted an 11-year-old same-age friend of his daughter was fined RM1,800 and had his marriage legally recognised.

Despite the outrage from Unicef, child activists and some (but not all) lawmakers, it seems in Malaysia the only real crime he committed was not following proper procedure for his marriage. 

As far as the law is concerned, he now has a wedding certificate that makes his marriage legally recognised in Malaysia.

It’s 2018. Eleven-year-olds shouldn’t be allowed to marry no matter what gender or race.

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Yet instead of calling them out, we have religious conservatives saying it was fine in ancient times and our deputy prime minister saying we need to tread cautiously with cultural sensitivities.

A little more than a hundred or so years ago, it was “acceptable” for Negri Sembilan people who married people that shared the same suku to be stuffed into barrels that were studded with nails. Suggest that now and you would be arrested.

Yes, there are tribes, including the Orang Asli for whom child marriage was customary and accepted practice.

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If I were to list the many “accepted practices” of yesteryear, most would be unthinkable in this day and age. For instance, not allowing women to vote.

There is nothing to gain from allowing children to marry — on the contrary there is enough scientific basis to say that children, boys and girls will suffer detriment from marrying too early.

Marriage is more than a means to legal procreation. It is a contract that brings with it other responsibilities — financial and to any future progeny. 

A child activist told me once that Malaysia doesn’t do enough to protect its children — and sadly, things have progressed little.

We can no longer keep using religion as an excuse to condone child marriage. Children should be in school, not in marriages. There can be no compromises, no allowing for justifications, no saying we need to be aware of sensitivities.

The right reaction to a 30-something-year-old man saying he started courting a girl at seven and married her at 11 should be nothing less than disgust and outrage. If you feel neither, then you’re part of the problem. 

There is no modern universe where a girl getting married at 11 is acceptable. Even though the famous perpetrator claims he will wait until the girl is 16 to sleep with her, there is no guarantee that he will keep that promise — oh, unless he was in jail, where by right he should be. 

Stop waffling, politicians. Child marriage is wrong. There is no black, no white, no grey area here. 

There is nothing left to discuss except yelling at the creepy old men in PAS who condone child marriages and at politicians until finally they make it absolutely illegal to get married if you’re not an adult yet.

If we won’t let children vote or drive, there is no reason we should let them get married. It really is that simple.

*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.