Mufti: Make it easier for couples to marry here
2011/03/23
By Sharanpal Singh Randhawa
sharanpal@nst.com.my
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Perlis Mufti Dr Juanda Jaya says a rigid and complex procedure will encourage Muslim couples to elope to Thailand
Perlis Mufti Dr Juanda Jaya says a rigid and complex procedure will encourage Muslim couples to elope to Thailand
KANGAR: The marriage procedure for Muslims in Malaysia, including for polygamous marriages and marriages to foreign spouses, should be simplified to reduce the number of marriages registered in south Thailand said Perlis Mufti Dr Juanda Jaya.
Juanda said a rigid and complex procedure would only encourage Muslim couples to seek an easy way out by eloping to Thailand.
“It is very easy to register a marriage in Thailand.
“And those with foreign partners, prefer to go over there as the procedures here are complicated.
“However, those who do so, put their marriage and spouses at risk as they will face problems in registering their marriages later here.
“Those with foreign spouses in Thailand, will have to verify the religious status of their partners.”
Juanda said the authorities should come up with a simpler procedure based on the four basic tenets of a Muslim marriage, to encourage Malaysians to marry here.
“I believe that as long as the spouses are Muslims, and the couple are capable of respecting each other’s feelings, and family background, they should be allowed to marry here,” he said.
Recently, the Malaysian Consul-General in Songkhla, Mohd Aini Atan, revealed that out of 3,260 marriages registered in southern Thailand last year, 782 involved Malaysians.
The highest number was between Malaysians and Thais (419), followed by Indonesians (228), Pakistanis (45), and Filipinas (18).
Malaysians had also registered marriages with spouses from Cambodia, South Africa, Singapore, France, Nigeria, South Korea, Japan, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Denmark, America, Iran, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan.
Besides the problem of the marriage being used as a ruse to obtain permanent resident status, there were concerns over the religious status of these foreign spouses as this details were not stressed by the Islamic marriage registrar in Thailand.
Read more: Mufti: Make it easier for couples to marry here http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Mufti_Makeiteasierforcouplestomarryhere/Article#ixzz1HNYHXGXv
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