Don't hesitate, ban child marriage now, says Ambiga

Nicholas Chin Updated 5 years ago · Published on 14 Aug 2018 2:36PM · 2 Comments

Ambiga Sreenevasan says shariah judges aren't stopping the government from preventing child marriages, and that the government just has to enforce the existing law. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, August 14, 2018.

PUTRAJAYA should not prevaricate on child marriages, and should move to ban them, said Ambiga Sreenevasan.

The human rights lawyer said the government must make a clear stand against child marriage.

“I am embarrassed that the child had to go back to Thailand just to get justice because we failed her,” said Ambiga at a forum on Pakatan Harapan’s 100 days in office.

The forum was held in conjunction with the Malaysian Bar’s International Malaysia Law Conference today.

Her comments come after the recent marriage of an 11-year-old girl to a 43-year-old man from Gua Musang, Kelantan.

Earlier, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Fuziah Salleh said that the government was taking action to prevent child marriages.

“We have introduced a special standard operating procedure for child marriages, which makes child marriage stringent and difficult,” said the deputy minister.

Fuziah said that they were being held back by shariah judges’ mindsets.

“It’s not just about changing the laws, we have to change mindsets and the culture”, she said.

Ambiga however disagreed with the deputy minister that shariah judges were stopping the government from preventing child marriages.

“We have the Sexual Offences Against Children Act. It’s not about changing the mindset, it’s about enforcing the law”, said Ambiga.

Ambiga was also critical of the government’s failure to repeal laws she said were oppressive and the government had committed to repealing in their manifesto.

“The Sedition Act, Section 233 of the MCMC, these are no-brainers. Mr Attorney-General, I urge you to hold a moratorium on all cases under the Sedition Act, the death penalty, and under Section 233 of the MCMC (Communications and Multimedia Act 1998),” she said.

She said that if the government was committed to repealing these laws, it made no sense to allow investigations to continue under these laws. – August 14, 2018.

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Comments

  • I said at the time Wan Azizah favoured modus operandi is to delay action until someone else solves the problem for her. In this case she is hoping the Thai authorities will do the job. It still leaves the question of what action will be taken against the Malaysian man.

    Posted 5 years ago by Malaysia New hope · Reply

  • It looks like when decisions are required from Muslim leaders , there are always a dilly dally actions and the excuses of meeting shariah reqiurements and many more related to religious interferences. God damn it!!!!!! We have rules of law to follow and not by the calling of man made religious rights. Looks like we have to settle for a Saudi Arabic way of lives in Malaysia just because some communal prefer it as the in style of Arabisation..

    Posted 5 years ago by Lee Lee · Reply