By Afix Redzuan
SHAH ALAM, Nov 19 — Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail told the Dewan Rakyat today that the ban on child marriages cannot be enforced as seven states were not cooperative with the proposed amendments to the law.
During the Minister’s Question Time, Dr Wan Azizah, who is also the Women, Family and Community Development Minister, said only Selangor had successfully revised the minimum legal marriage age for Muslims to 18 years-old.
“The amendment to the enactment or legal ordinance on minimum age for marriages can only be done if the states agree with the proposed amendments.
“Only Selangor had amended the enactment while the Federal Territories is in the process of amending it,” she said in her reply to Ledang MP Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh.
Dr Wan Azizah said five states have agreed to amend the law, which included Penang, Sabah, Johor, Melaka and Perak, while seven states have disagreed.
The seven states are Sarawak, Pahang, Terengganu, Perlis, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah and Kelantan.
She said as for non-Muslims, the Home Affairs Ministry had stated that the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 does not need to be amended as the existing law clearly states that the minimum age of marriage men and women is 18 years.
“Exemption is only given to girls of the age 16 and 17 years-old with the approval of the chief minister or menteri besar.
“This exemption, however, is overseen through a standard operating procedure (SOP) mechanism for the application of underage marriage, which has been refined and enforced on August 22, 2019,” she said.
Dr Wan Azizah added that her ministry is finalising the National Strategic Plan to Overcome the Reason of Underage Marriage.
The plan has programmes or actions involving 61 federal and state agencies and is expected to be tabled to the Cabinet by the year end.
