KUALA LUMPUR: Some 881 underaged marriages were registered under the Syariah courts from 2022 to 2024, says Senator Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar.
The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) said that under Section 8 of the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) Act 1984, the minimum age for marriage was no less than 18 years for males and no less than 16 years for females.
He said that for underaged marriages, the Syariah Court is required to conduct a comprehensive assessment before granting permission for the marriage, in a written parliamentary reply on Feb 27,
He added that the assessment follows a specific Standard Operating Procedure through the Syariah Judiciary Department Malaysia (JKSM) director-general/Chief Syariah Judge Circular Number 1 of 2018, effective Sept 28, 2018.
According to the data, which he shared from the e-Syariah system, the five states with the most underaged marriages are Kelantan (193), Selangor (133), Kedah (126), Terengganu (115) and Johor (73).
There are also more girls - 518 of them - who marry underaged compared to boys (363).
2024 has seen the lowest number of child marriages at 52, a significant drop compared to 2023 at 512.
Na'im was responding to Syerleena Binti Abdul Rashid (PH-Bukit Bendera), who asked about the latest data on child marriage in Malaysia, including a detailed breakdown by state and age group.
