In the past four years, there have been a total of 533 underage married couples recorded in Kelantan, as reported by state Kelantan Islamic Development, Dakwah, Information, and Regional Relations committee chairman Mohd Asri Mat Daud on Tuesday (Nov 28).
He stated that the state government chose to keep the age of marriage as 18 for boys and 16 for girls without any amendments being made.
“Only 13 applications have been rejected due to certain factors, and the approach to underage marriage is considered reasonable under the provision of Section 8 of the Kelantan Islamic Family Enactment 2002,” he said in response to an additional question by Zubir Abu Bakar (PAS-Mengkebang) at the state assembly at Kota Darulnaim Complex here on Tuesday.
He emphasized the importance of comprehensively assessing the benefits of underage marriage from the aspects of the couple’s willingness and readiness to start a family, as well as their ability and maturity in decision making and parenting, and the support and preparation provided by parents.
“The meeting of Syarie judges decided to consider a minimum standard operating procedure (SOP) by the Kelantan Syariah Judiciary Department, considering Kelantan’s location bordering Thailand that makes solemnisation there very easy, something we wish to avoid occurring without the consent of their guardians.
“All underage marriage application approvals require the consent of the Syariah Court beforehand,” he said, as the matter was enshrined in Section 8 of the Kelantan State Islamic Family Law Enactment 2002 that states that no marriage could be solemnised under the Enactment if the boy was under 18 years of age or the girl was under 16 years old, with the exception that the Syarie judge giving their written consent under certain conditions.
Prior to the solemnisation, the application needs to be made at the Syariah Court, where the Syarie judge has the authority to approve or reject the application, and the judge makes the decision during trial in closed chambers involving testimony from the underaged applicant, their parents, witnesses, and local imam or the Assistant Registrar of Marriage, Divorce, or Ruju. – Bernama
