Pasir Puteh MP Nik Mazian Nik Mohamad said prohibiting child marriages, on the other hand, would lead to a rise in the number of teenagers having casual sex.

“We now have teenagers below 16 who want to have sex,” he said during a debate on the Child (Amendment) Bill 2015 today at the Dewan Rakyat.

Nik Mazian said this when arguing about statutory rape with DAP’s Teo Nie Ching.

Teo had earlier brought up the case about a 13-year-old girl who married her 40-year-old alleged rapist in Sabah last year.

The Kulai MP wondered if Nik Mazian knew the definition of statutory rape, pointing out that sex with someone below the age of 16 was classified as such, even with their consent.

“How can we allow our children to marry a rapist?”

Nik Mazian, however, asked in return if the teenage girl was forced to have sex with the 40-year-old.

“If it was mutual; that means the child was lusty.”

Teo then said that instead of marrying off minors to their rapists, it was better to create awareness through education.

The legal minimum marriage age in Malaysia is 18. However, for Muslim girls, it is 16, while those aged below 16 can marry with the consent of the Shariah Court.