THE government will not raise the minimum marriage age for Muslim women from 16 to 18, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (religious affairs) Idris Ahmad said.

“After considering the views of various states, the Jakim shariah law secretariat decided on September 22 that there is no necessity to raise the minimum marriage age for Muslim women,” the senator told Dewan Rakyat during the ministers’ question time session today. 

He said the shariah courts have already set various conditions for underage marriages.

They have already issued the standard operating procedure (SOP) for such marriages effective September 28, 2018. 

Idris was responding to P. Kasthuriraani (Batu Kawan-Pakatan Harapan), who asked whether the government would raise the age of marriage to 18 and abolish the practice of child marriage. 

Idris said on August 7, 2018, the federal territories mufti already announced that underage marriages will only be allowed after the couples have fulfilled conditions set by the shariah court. 

“The government can set the policies for underage marriages as they fall under Islamic principles but this is not meant to illegalise what Allah has allowed,” he said. 

Idris said the government, however, has studied the proposal to raise the minimum marriage age for Muslim women from 16 to 18. 

“Based on feedback, most of the states have decided to maintain the current minimum marriage age at 16,” he said. 

Based on statistics from the shariah courts, he said there were 2,885 underage marriages from September 1, 2015 to August 31, 2018. 

“The number of approvals for the three years after the SOP was issued (September 1, 2018-October 31, 2021) is 2,098. This is a reduction of 787 cases,” he said. 

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, there were 1,856 child marriages in Malaysia in 2018. The state with the highest number of non-Muslim children married in 2018 was Pahang (102) while Sabah saw the highest number of Muslim children married at 334.

Of the 1,856 child marriages, 73.9% (1,372) were Muslim girls. – December 16, 2021.