Selangor Sultan agrees to raise marriageable age to 18

S'GOR DUN | Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah today agreed for the Selangor state government to raise the minimum legal marriage age for girls to 18.

The current legislation in Selangor allows girls who are at least 16 years old to wed.

The Selangor ruler said the amendment was necessary as he was concerned about the impact of marital life on underaged girls.

"I view underage marriage seriously because I am worried about the negative consequences faced by the couples and the subsequent impact on society.

"I am in agreement with the suggestion to raise the minimum marriage age for Muslim males and females in Selangor from 16 to 18 years," he said in his speech when officiating the 14th state Legislative Assembly's first term sitting in Shah Alam today.

This is the first Selangor state Legislative Assembly sitting since the 14th general election on May 9, which also saw the Pakatan Harapan coalition take over the federal government.

Lately, underage marriage has been heatedly debated since reports emerged of a 41-year-old man in Kelantan having taken an 11-year-old Thai girl as his third wife.

Sultan Sharafuddin said the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) and Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) have to revise their existing laws and make improvements, if necessary.

"Mais and Jais have informed of their proposals for amendments to the existing laws," he said.

According to the ruler, several other provisions should also be amended to improve the procedure and obtain consent for underage marriage in the syariah courts. 

"This includes imposing conditions on the parents and parties involved, such as furnishing mental, physical, moral, sociology, and fertility reports, as well as proof of coercion-free consent of the applicants, to ensure that such marriages will not negatively affect the spouses. 

"For that purpose, it is proposed that several provisions in the Selangor Islamic Family Law Enactment and Administration of the Religion of Islam (State of Selangor) Enactment 2003, be amended," he said. 

The sultan also decreed that the amendments be presented during the current State Assembly sitting. 

The assembly will start debating on the sultan's decree tomorrow. 

-Mkini