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Excertpts:
Kimberly Ng, Sherlyn Seah and Shirley Tay
Published: 11:30am, 21 Jun, 2020
Child marriage – defined by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) as any formal marriage or informal union where one or both of the parties are under the age of 18 – is not unique to these girls of the Penan tribe in Belaga. In fact, child marriages happen across Malaysia, though it is most pervasive in Sarawak.
Malaysia’s 2010 Housing and Population Census – the latest available nationwide data – showed more than 150,000 teenagers aged between 15 and 19 were married, up from 65,029 in the 2000 census. The next census is expected to be released this year.
In Sarawak, 1,609 non-Muslim female child marriages were recorded from 2005 to 2015 by the National Population and Family Development Board. The state also had 1,284 cases of Muslim child marriages from 2011 to 2016, as documented by the Department of Sharia Judiciary.
These figures show Sarawak has the highest number of child marriages in the country. Despite this, Sarawak is one of seven Malaysian states that have not yet complied with a 2018 federal directive to raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 for Muslims and non-Muslims.
Change is coming slowly for Sarawak, activists say, because of traditional, indigenous communities in remote areas. The collapse of the Pakatan Harapan coalition government – which had promised in its manifesto to outlaw child marriages – and its replacement by the Perikatan Nasional has also raised concerns that the movement to banish child marriages might have been derailed.
In particular, the appointment of Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff as a deputy minister of Women, Family and Community Development has raised concerns. In a 2017 debate, Yusoff – an MP with the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) – had said underage marriage should not be disputed because it was “the guidance of Allah”. Her party currently governs Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, three Malaysian states which, like Sarawak, have yet to implement the 2018 directive.
Read the whole article here:
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3089844/malaysian-children-young-12-are-getting-married-and-its-legal?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=article&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1592711198
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“We seldom do activities together now, because we live in different longhouses,” says Mary. “When we were in the same school, we always had activities together.”
“We miss the time when we were still single,” she adds, breaking into a playful grin, as Iris and Sarah giggle.
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weehingthong 
If your life expectancy is only in the high twenties, a case can be made but zaman dah berubah, dunia dah maju so will Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff marry off her daughters – if she has any – to an old dude say, Prince Andrew, as an example?