Sarawak’s stand on child marriages in letter to govt different, says DPM

Sarawak has three marital legal systems — civil, shariah and customary laws — with two setting the minimum age of marriage at 18.

SHAH ALAM: Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail today said the Sarawak government’s stand on raising the minimum marriage age to 18 differed from what it said in a letter to Putrajaya.

Wan Azizah, who is also women, family and community development minister, however, did not divulge the contents of the letter.

“We’ve noted the difference in the statement issued by the Sarawak government and what was written in the letter,” she told reporters after an event here.

The East Malaysian state is among the seven states which have refused to raise the marital age. The others are Pahang, Terengganu, Perlis, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah and Kelantan.

Last week, Sarawak Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Fatimah Abdullah denied they had rejected the proposal to raise the minimum marriage age to address the problem of child marriages.

Fatimah said reports to the contrary were inaccurate, adding that while Sarawak had supported the law, it needed to be refined.

Sarawak, she added, has three marital legal systems — civil, shariah and customary laws — with two setting the minimum age of marriage at 18. - FMT