Married abroad: Selangor will only recognise if registered with Jais

SHAH ALAM: The Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) does not recognise any marriage of local couples conducted abroad if they are not registered with the state Islamic Religious Department (Jais).

Mais chairman, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof (pic), said that, although the marriage is valid in Islam, if couples fail to register with Jais, their marriage are not recognised.

He said that couples who fail to register their marriage will cause various problems to arise in the future.

"For example, like dealing with their children who are getting married, it will be a difficult process if the parents' marriage is not registered and recognised in Selangor... the same goes for the division of inheritance.

"The space to get married in Malaysia is wide open, there is no problem. In fact, we also hold a marriage course that no other country does, at the very least they ask questions about the rukun nikah (the conditions set out under Islamic law on the validity of the marriage solemnisation),” he told reporters after flagging off the Post-flood Contribution of Mais and its subsidiaries to Terengganu and Kelantan here, Sunday (Jan 8).

In addition, he said that Selangor also does not recognise any type of wedding package offered abroad, including in Thailand and Indonesia.

"Jais has enough registrars and marriage counsellors in every district, statewide. The situation shows that there is no prohibition for any Muslim couple to get married through the procedures which have been set.

"However, there are still couples who want to get married abroad, and we never recognise it, including the party that offers such packages,” he said.

Meanwhile, in another development, Mais donated financial aid and basic foodstuffs amounting to RM200,000 to ease the burden of flood victims in Kelantan and Terengganu.

Mais channelled RM125,000, while the remaining RM75,000 was contributed by its subsidiaries and agencies under its purview, namely Perbadanan Wakaf Selangor (PWS), Universiti Islam Selangor (UIS), Yayasan Islam Darul Ehsan (YIDE), Bakti Suci Holdings Sdn Bhd (BSHSB) as well as Tera Ekonomi Asnaf Sdn Bhd (TERAS).

Donations will be channelled through the Kelantan Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIK) and the Terengganu Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIDAM); each will receive RM100,000. - Bernama