No more child marriage in Sarawak, but what about Malaysia in general?

 

THE STATE administration of Sarawak is moving toward setting 18 as the minimum legal age for marriage, part of broader efforts to address teenage pregnancies and discourage early unions while protecting young people’s health and long-term wellbeing.

Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said policies concerning youth must place their safety, welfare and future prospects first. 

She noted that when teenagers leave school without clear direction, families often worry about their next steps.

“Some are still too young to enter the workforce, and in certain situations they end up waiting to get married at an early age,” she was reportedly said by the Borneo Post.

Fatimah highlighted the serious risks associated with early marriage, especially from a health perspective. She explained that teenage girls are often not physically ready for pregnancy and childbirth, and may also lack the emotional and mental maturity required for parenthood.

This is a move towards the right direction, but can the same be said for Malaysia on a holistic level? Away from Sarawak, how rampant is child marriage across Malaysia?

There are no official records on such marriages but UNICEF some years back published an article highlighting that between 2007 and 2017, approximately 15,000 cases were recorded in Malaysia.

Sisters in Islam in a separate article further noted that the Kelantan Syariah courts had approved 10 underage marriages between January 2018 and January 2019.

The fight against child brides is an uphill battle against age old tradition. Fatimah added that the Sarawak Social Development Council had earlier proposed aligning the minimum marriage age at 18 statewide. However, Sarawak’s legal landscape is complex, as marriages fall under civil, Syariah and customary laws.

In Sarawak, 18 is already the minimum age or non-Muslims under the civil law. Marriages involving younger individuals require special approval from the Resident of the division, under authority delegated by the Chief Minister. 

Applications involving those below 16 are strongly discouraged and assessed individually. Discussions are ongoing to further strengthen and standardise this framework.

Fatimah said the Bidayuh community has agreed to adopt 18 as the minimum age, while engagement with other communities continues. 

Any couple seeking to marry below that age must obtain official approval. Under Syariah law, underage marriages can only proceed with the Syariah Court’s consent. Customary marriages, meanwhile, do not always specify a fixed age and often rely on traditional interpretations of maturity.

She stressed that the proposal is not meant to prevent marriage, but to shield young people from health dangers, poverty, interrupted education and related social challenges.

The broader aim, she said, is to reduce both child marriage and teenage pregnancy in order to safeguard the future of the younger generation. —Focus Malaysia