Child marriages: Teo slams Azizah but praises Nancy

Teo Nie Ching of DAP hammers Azizah Mohd Dun for her dismissive stance on the UN resolution and lauds Nancy Shukri for recognising that child marriages should be curbed.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has a moral obligation to fulfil the United Nations resolution on child marriages, insists DAP lawmaker Teo Nie Ching.

In saying this, Teo criticised Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, Azizah Mohd Dun, for her dismissive stance on the UN resolution to end child, early or forced marriages, which Malaysia adopted at the Human Rights Council in 2013.

“(Azizah Mohd Dun) gave a brush-off by saying the UN resolution ‘is not binding’ when being questioned when the government is going to fulfil our promise to end child marriages during the debate of the bill,” Teo said.

“Even if the resolution is not legally binding, don’t we have a moral obligation to fulfil it? Is adopting the UN resolution to end child marriage merely diplomatic hypocrisy, or does our government really have the political will to honour its words?”

The Kulai parliamentarian said this after posing the question about the UN resolution in Parliament last week, in which Azizah replied that the resolution was not binding and that there were other “certain laws” that needed to be respected.

Teo also corrected minister Nancy Shukri about her announcement in Alor Setar yesterday on a “new” requirement that minors wanting to get married must obtain written consent from the menteri besar or chief minister in their respective states.

She said Nancy had been “wrongly advised” since consent from the menteri besar or chief minister was a long-existing requirement for marriage under civil law.

Section 10 of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 provides that the legal minimum age for marriage under civil law for both genders is 18, while marriages involving girls above 16 but under 18 require the consent of the state menteri besar or chief minister.

“Obviously, Nancy Shukri is wrongly advised. It is erroneous to give the impression that the recently-amended Child Act has provided better protection against child marriage,” Teo said.

“Nevertheless, I appreciate Nancy Shukri’s acknowledgement that child marriage ‘is a very serious issue and should be curbed.’

“Her attitude is much more promising compared with (that of) her colleague, the Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development.”