Malaysians, and the rest of the world, were and still outraged with Malaysia’s MP Datuk Shabudin Yahya as he told the Parliament on April 4 that it is okay for rape victims to marry their rapists and claimed that there are some nine-year-olds that are “physically and spiritually” ready for marriage, in trying to refute Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud from the Opposition when debating against the long-awaited Sexual Offences Against Children Bill 2017 that was finally passed on the same day.
“When we discuss the 12 and 15-year-old, we don’t see their physical bodies because some children aged 12 or 15 have bodies like 18-year-old women,” Shabudin claimed.
“It’s not impossible for them to get married,” Shabudin said, adding that there was “nothing wrong” with a rape victim marrying the rapist as it could serve as a “remedy” to the increasing number of social problems.
“She will have a husband, at least, and this could serve as a remedy to growing social problems,” he said while debating the Sexual Offences Against Children Bill 2017.
His ignorant statement has made headlines at international news report sites such as BBC, Telegraph UK and The Guardian. Ministers and public figures, both from the government and opposition side, have expressed their disappointment, anger and worry that Shabudin’s statement may be seen as a ticket for pedophiles and rapists to become more aggressive and violate young children and women’s rights.
As reported by The Star, CIMB group chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Razak, the Prime Minister’s brother, wrote on his Instagram: “No, it is not (okay). And no, they can’t (marry the victims)!”
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Rahman Dahlan posted in Facebook that he felt “utter shock and disappointment.”
“It is abhorrent to suggest that a rapist, who should be prosecuted, has the means to escape legal responsibility simply by marrying his victim.”
A lot of foreign social media users has related this issue to the Syariah Law as Malaysia is a Muslim-majority country, and Shabudin’s profile as a former Syariah court judge. This is why I am writing here to clarify.
The laws of Malaysia is mainly based on the common law legal system that was directly resulted from the colonisation of Malaya, Sarawak, and North Borneo by Britain from the 19th century to early 1960s. Federal laws enacted by the Parliament of Malaysia apply throughout the country. There are state laws that are enacted by the state government which applies on the particular state. Uniquely, Malaysia also provides dual justice system- the secular (criminal and civil) laws and Syariah law, consenting that Muslims makes the highest population, but at the same time it is a multi-racial country. Let’s just say that the law’s keeping it balanced.
The Syariah court in Malaysia takes charge in handling civil and criminal cases for Muslims which differs from the common civil court. Roughly, the civil jurisdication of a Syariah court covers Muslim family affairs such as engagements, marriage, divorce, rights towards children and distribution of inheritance. Meanwhile, the crime jurisdication takes charge on religion-related crimes such as gambling, fornicate, selling alcohol, not fasting in the month of Ramadhan, failures in paying the zakat fitrah (is a form of alms-giving treated in Islam as a religious obligation or tax to be given to the needy) and more.
Back to the topic of child marriages, the official marrying age for Muslims in Malaysia are 16 years old for girls and 18 for boys. Couples who wish to legally marry younger than the age must seek permission from their parents and religious courts. Even so, Malaysians are against the idea of young marriages because you can see that the Syariah court is full of divorced young couples due to their lack of consent on their responsibilities as both husband and wife, and their unreadiness in building a well-structed family which takes up multiple factors to build a strong one, for example, economy. Most cases that I have heard about young marriages often happen in rural areas where both of them and their families are not well-off and educated.
“Sharia courts are full of divorces among young couples. There is a very, very high rate of divorce and re-marriage among couples in Malaysia.”- Sharmila Sekaran, chair of the Malaysia’s Voice of the Children NGO to BBC News that also states that Shabudin’s statement was “flawed and not supported by any evidence”.
The society, including myself, rejoiced as the Sexual Offences Against Children Bill 2017 has passed by the Parliament, but the bold and disguisting opinions that are coming from politicians that are supposed to lead the community with high moral values fears us. Rape victims are supposed to get out of the hellpit of these predators that will scar them for life and shrink their capabilities, not dragging them back into it, as it will only make them believe that possibilities and opportunities don’t exist, or never, in their case.
The bill surely is a stepping stone for Malaysia to protect it’s civillians rights, but I plead for the government to keep on improvising and educating the society on the importance of knowing the dangers of sexual abuse and child grooming so that there will be none of us who will speak mindlessly on this issue.
They are our children. They are our future, and our future has to be protected.
