Zuraida, speaking on behalf of Pakatan Harapan, reminded the state there were processes that needed to be followed according to shariah law.
She said one shariah provision required a judge to decide if the Muslim man would be able to provide financial support and care for both wives and their children.
“Pakatan Harapan’s women reject this legalisation programme. There are other steps that can be taken, without jeopardising the women’s rights.
“The man doesn’t need the first wife’s permission, but he does need to speak to her to ensure he is competent and has been able to provide for her and her children,” she told reporters during a press conference at the PKR headquarters here today.
According to a report in The Star Online, the Kedah government will introduce a legalisation programme for Kedah Muslim men who tie the knot in Thailand or other countries and do not register their union on returning.
The programme, expected to start next month, would see such marriages legalised, even if the men were already married in the state.
Kedah religious affairs committee chairman Mohd Rawi Abdul Hamid was quoted in the report as saying the state would inform the first wives if their Muslim husbands married again out of the country, but their consent or approval would not be needed for those marriages to be legalised.
Rawi also said the state was working on reducing the fine for failing to register the marriages to between RM300 and RM400, compared with RM3,000 currently.
Parti Amanah Negara MP Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud said the programme was unfair to the first wives as they were not allowed to give their views and neither was a judge allowed to decide if the husband could provide for both wives.
She also said Rawi needed to make it clear if the legalisation process would be applicable to those married before 2017 or to anyone.
Mariah said Muslim men must know it was not their right to marry more than one wife, as there were shariah rules and regulations to abide by.
“We are worried that this process will be overlooked, then what happens to both wives if he is not able to care for them,” she said.
Rawi said that Kedah’s objective was to protect the future of the subsequent wives and children.
He said emphasis would be given to couples with children who had not registered their marriages.
“We want them to have valid marriage certificates so that their children will not become victims and be denied citizenship,” he said.
During the press conference, the Pakatan Harapan women’s wing announced several new appointments.
Jannie Lasimbang was named head of the wing for Sabah and Voon Shaik Nee for Sarawak while PKR’s Sivamalar Ganapathy has been appointed to head the legal bureau of the wing and DAP’s Kasthuri Patto to lead the communications bureau.