Ban child marriage? New law focuses on crimes, minister says

MPs can propose amendments, including adding a provision to outlaw child marriages, in the new law addressing sexual crimes against children, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Azalina Othman.

However, Azalina said the new law focuses more on sexual crimes, and not other elements like child marriages.

"In my opinion, we should look at what the criminal sexual elements are today. This law is more to the criminal element," she told reporters at Kuala Lumpur today.

She was speaking on the sidelines of a conference on curbing sexual crimes against children.

Azalina was responding to Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching who urged the government to include a provision to ban child marriages, in the new law on child sexual crimes.

Teo said this is because government statistics showed 15,000 girls below the age of 15 were married in 2010, when the age of consent for girls is 16.

She also questioned why MPs are in the dark about this new law despite active participation in the bi-partisan parliamentary women's caucus.

To this, Azalina said a briefing on the new law will be done after the bill is tabled for first reading in Parliament.

"We will call two groups, BN and opposition MPs, for a briefing and discussion over the bill," she said, hoping the bill will receive bi-partisan support.

The Child Sexual Crimes Bill will be tabled for first and second reading in the ongoing Parliament sitting.

The government also intends to set up a special child sexual crimes court, to ensure trials for such cases are resolved within a year.-Mkini