KUALA LUMPUR: A former syariah judge has called for the syariah laws to be amended to curb child marriages. “To prevent any future complications like divorce and health problems, we should standardise syariah laws and set a minimum age of 18 for marriage,” he said at a forum on child marriages yesterday. Kuthubul suggested amending Section 10 of the Malaysian Civil Laws Act, which pertains to child marriage, and incorporated the theme of the Child Act 2001, which has the child’s best interest in mind. “The ketua menteri must have the child’s best interest in mind when faced with a request to allow an underage marriage. However, Clark-Hattingh cautioned that changing laws weren’t enough to prevent underage marriages from happening.

Source: The Star October 08, 2016 23:03 UTC