'Child marriage a necessity in Kelantan’ – roundtable by PAS gov’t concludes

A roundtable organised by the PAS-led Kelantan government has concluded that underage marriage is consistent with the syariah law and even a “necessity” in the state.

This was among seven resolutions passed at the “Roundtable on Underage Marriage: A Holistic Approach and Evaluation” organised in Kota Bharu, according to Utusan Malaysia.

However, the resolution said that as per Section 8 of the Islamic Family Law (Kelantan) Enactment 2002, written permission from the court is needed for underage marriage.

Other resolutions made by the roundtable was a declaration against Putrajaya's plan to raise the minimum marriage age of girls from 16 to 18.

The roundtable also rejected the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw) which calls for the minimum marriage age to be set at 18.

"These two conventions are not suitable for implementation, particularly for Muslims in Kelantan ... besides, there is strict mechanism governing underage marriage in the law and standard operating procedures," said the resolution.

The roundtable was jointly organised by the state government, Kelantan Islamic Affairs Department (Jheaik) and Kelantan Pertubuhan Lepasan Undang-Undang dan Hak Asasi Manusia (Luham). - Mkini