Religious affairs minister Idris Ahmad said the decision was reached after taking into consideration the feedback and views of the state governments.

He told the Dewan Rakyat the federal government had taken steps to study the proposal to raise the minimum marriage age for Muslim women from 16 to 18.

“The research into the issue also covered discussions at various legal forums, including those from shariah and civil courts, as the power to decide Muslim marriages is under the jurisdiction of the states.

“Based on the feedback and views that we have received, most states have in principle agreed to maintain the current legal marriage age as provided for under the Islamic family laws in respective states,” he said in reply to Kasthuri Patto (PH-Batu Kawan), who asked for an update on the government’s effort to raise the marriage age to 18.

Idris said that after getting the views and feedback of the states, the shariah law secretariat under the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) met on Sept 22.

“It was decided that there was no need to amend the minimum marriage age for Muslim women.

“At the same time, the Syariah Judiciary Department has taken steps to ensure that those who apply for underage marriage will go through a strict process of evaluation to ensure that the interest of all parties involved is taken care of,” he said.

Various women’s NGOs have called for an end to the practice of underage marriages involving girls below the age of 18.

Sisters in Islam previously reported that only Selangor had amended the minimum legal marriage age for Muslims to 18 while the federal territories (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan), Penang, Sabah, Johor, Melaka and Perak had agreed to amend their Islamic family laws.

“However, seven states – Sarawak, Pahang, Terengganu, Perlis, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah and Kelantan – have yet to agree to raise the legal marriage age to 18 years old,” it said.