State Islamic Affairs Committee chairman Khairi Hassan said it was to ensure that Muslims who married overseas or in the neighbouring country, including for polygamy reasons, were not unnecessarily burdened in registering their marriages in the country.

“The state government views this issue seriously so that problems like inheritance, documentation of children, property and schooling can be avoided,” he said when replying to a question from Mohd Shukri Ramli(PAS-Sanglang) at the state assembly sitting here today.

He said the Perlis Islamic Religious Department (JAIPs) was currently pursuing the matter so that the court process required to register such marriages could be expedited by paying a compound fine, which was likely to be RM2,000 for each couple.

As for non-Perlis residents, he said once the changes were okayed, they too could have access to the facility provided that they had stayed in the state for more than three days.