By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, March 12: Non-Muslims can only marry one spouse under the country’s existing civil and customary laws, says Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah.
The Sarawak Minister of Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development (KPWK) explained that under Malaysian law, there are two types of marriages provided for Muslims (Muslim marriage) and non-Muslims (civil marriage).
In the context of Sarawak, there are also native customary marriages.
“Under our legal system, a non-Muslim can only marry one person whether it is under civil marriage or customary marriage. For Muslim marriages, the law states that they have their own rules,” she told a press conference at her residence here today.
Fatimah said this when asked by reporters to comment on the case of a local Chinese man’s alleged wedding to two wives in Kuching.
However, Fatimah clarified that her ministry’s jurisdiction does not extend to matters related to marriage law enforcement and refrained from commenting further on the specific case, adding that the matter falls under the National Registration Department (JPN). — DayakDaily
