KUALA LUMPUR: The government is in the midst of drawing up stricter guidelines for marriages involving minors, pending a permanent solution to the issue.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa said the standard operating procedures (SOP) would be ready soon.
“It will be done within this month. Let me just say that this (the SOPs) are just temporary. Child marriage in the long term should be banned," he told reporters in Parliament.
Mujahid however said that the issue was particularly complex and riddled with technicalities.
“We are facing technical problems, we have to amend the law, we have a lot of stakeholders.
“We need Shariah law and a civil law that allows (for the marriage) with permission (on condition).
Meanwhile, Mujahid said consultations need to be made before such a move is made given the state’s role which is supreme in Islamic and Syariah matters.
“We have to consult with everyone. Not overriding (state laws), those are the technical problems I am talking about.”
“The end result we are hoping for is to end child marriages. Once Federal (government) comes up with such a law, we hope the state would follow it.
"There's no point in having a law that is only followed at federal level," he added.
The implementation of the SOP came following public outcry over the marriage between a 41-year-old man and an 11-year-old girl in Kelantan.
The Gua Musang Syariah Lower Court had fined the man RM1,800, who was charged with solemnising a marriage and committing polygamy without permission.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was previously reported as saying that the marriage was recognised from the perspective of Islamic laws (hukum), but not from the legal perspective.
According to the Islamic Family Law Enactment, which applies in all states, the minimum legal age for marriage is 18 for a male and 16 for a female.
Those under the legal minimum age will only be permitted to get married if they get the consent of the Syariah Court and their parents.