Persons by whom marriages may be solemnized
(1) A marriage in the Federal Territory shall be in accordance with the provisions of this Act and shall be solemnized in accordance with Hukum Syarak by—
(a) the wali in the presence of the Registrar;
(b) the representative of the wali in the presence and with the permission of the Registrar; or
(c) the Registrar as the representative of the wali.
(2) Where a marriage involves a woman who has no wali from nasab in accordance with Hukum Syarak, the marriage shall be solemnized only by the wali Raja.
Minimum age for marriage
No marriage may be solemnized under this Act where either the man is under the age of eighteen or the woman is under the age of sixteen except where the Syariah Judge has granted his permission in writing in certain circumstances.
Relationships prohibiting marriage
(1) No man or woman, as the case may be, shall, on the ground of consanguinity, marry—
(a) his mother or father;
(b) his grandmother or upwards, whether on the side of his father or his mother, and his or her ascendants, howhigh-soever;
(c) his daughter or her son and his granddaughter or her grandson and his or her descendants, how-low-soever;
(d) his sister or her brother of the same parents, his sister or her brother of the same father, and his sister or her brother of the same mother;
(e) the daughter of his brother or sister, or the son of her brother or sister and the descendants, how-low-soever, of the brother or sister;
(f) his aunt or her uncle on his father’s side and her or his ascendants;
(g) his aunt or her uncle on his mother’s side and her or his ascendants.
(2) No man or woman, as the case may be, shall, on the ground of affinity, marry—
(a) his mother-in-law or father-in-law and the ascendants of his wife, how-high-soever;
(b) his stepmother or her stepfather, being his father’s wife or her mother’s husband;
(c) his stepgrandmother, being the wife of his grandfather or the husband of her grandmother, whether on the side of the father or the mother;
(d) his daughter-in-law or her son-in-law;
(e) his stepdaughter or her stepson and her or his descendants, how-low-soever from a wife or a husband with whom the marriage has been consummated.
(3) No man or woman, as the case may be, shall, on the ground of fosterage, marry any woman or any man connected with him or her through some act of suckling where, if it had been instead an act of procreation, the woman or man would have been within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity or affinity.
(4) No man shall have two wives at any one time who are so related to each other by consanguinity, affinity, or fosterage that if either of them had been a male a marriage between them would have been illegal in Hukum Syarak.
Persons of other religions
(1) No man shall marry a non-Muslim except a Kitabiyah.
(2) No woman shall marry a non-Muslim.
Void marriages
A marriage shall be void unless all conditions necessary, according to Hukum Syarak, for the validity thereof are satisfied.
Non-registrable marriages
(1) A marriage in contravention of this Act shall not be registrable under this Act.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) and without prejudice to subsection 40(2), a marriage which has been solemnized contrary to any provision of this Part but is otherwise valid according to Hukum Syarak may be registered under this Act with an order from the Court.
Consent required
A marriage shall not be recognized and shall not be registered under this Act unless both parties to the marriage have consented thereto, and either—
(a) the wali of the woman has consented thereto in accordance with Hukum Syarak; or
(b) the Syariah Judge having jurisdiction in the place where the woman resides or any person generally or specially authorized in that behalf by the Syariah Judge has, after due inquiry in the presence of all parties concerned, granted his consent thereto as wali Raja in accordance with Hukum Syarak; such consent may be given wherever there is no wali by nasab in accordance with Hukum Syarak available to act or if the wali cannot be found or where the wali refuses his consent without sufficient reason.
Marriage of a woman
(1) No woman shall, during the subsistence of her marriage to a man, be married to any other man.
(2) Where the woman is a janda—
(a) subject to paragraph (c), she shall not, at any time prior to the expiry of the period of ‘iddah, which shall be calculated in accordance with Hukum Syarak, be married to any person other than to the man from whom she was last divorced;
(b) she shall not be married unless she has produced—
(i) a certificate of divorce lawfully issued under the law for the time being in force; or
(ii) a certified copy of the entry relating to her divorce in the appropriate register of divorce; or
(iii) a certificate, which may, upon her application, be granted after due inquiry by the Syariah Judge having jurisdiction in the place where the application is made, to the effect that she is a janda;
(c) if the divorce was by ba-in kubra, that is to say, three talaq, she shall not be remarried to her previous husband, unless she has been lawfully married to some other person and the marriage has been consummated and later lawfully dissolved, and the period of ‘iddah has expired.
(3) If the woman alleges she was divorced before the marriage had been consummated, she shall not, during the ordinary period of ‘iddah for a divorce, be married to any person other than her previous husband, except with the permission of the Syariah Judge having jurisdiction in the place where she resides.
(4) Where the woman is a widow—
(a) she shall not be married to any person at any time prior to the expiration of the period of ‘iddah, which shall be calculated in accordance with Hukum Syarak;
(b) she shall not be married unless she has produced a certificate of the death of her late husband or otherwise proved his death.
Betrothal
If any person has, either orally or in writing, and either personally or through an intermediary, entered into a betrothal in accordance with Hukum Syarak, and subsequently refuses without lawful reason to marry the other party, the other party being willing to marry, the party in default shall be liable to return the betrothal gifts, if any, or the value thereof and to pay whatever moneys have been expended in good faith by or for the other party in preparation for the marriage, and the same may be recovered by action in the Court.
Preliminaries to a Marriage
Application for permission to marry
(1) Whenever it is desired to solemnize a marriage in the Federal Territory, each of the parties to the intended marriage shall apply in the prescribed form for permission to marry to the Registrar for the kariah masjid in which the woman is resident.
(2) If the man is resident in a kariah masjid different from that of the woman, or is resident in any State, his application shall bear or be accompanied by a statement of the Registrar of his kariah masjid or by the proper authority of the State, as the case may be, to the effect that as far as he has been able to ascertain the matters stated in the application are true.
(3) The application of each party must be delivered to the Registrar at least seven days before the proposed date of marriage, but the Registrar may allow a shorter period in any particular case.
(4) The applications of the parties shall be treated as a joint application.
Issue of permission to marry
Subject to section 18, the Registrar, on being satisfied of the truth of the matters stated in the application, of the legality of the intended marriage, and, where the man is already married, that the permission required by section 23 has been granted, shall, at any time after the application and upon payment of the prescribed fee, issue to the applicants his permission to marry in the prescribed form.
Reference to and action by Syariah Judge
(1) In any of the following cases, that is to say—
(a) where either of the parties to the intended marriage is below the age specified in section 8; or
(b) where the woman is a janda to whom subsection 14(3) applies; or
(c) where the woman has no wali from nasab, according to Hukum Syarak,
the Registrar shall, instead of acting under section 17, refer the application to the Syariah Judge having jurisdiction in the place where the woman resides.
(2) The Syariah Judge on being satisfied of the truth of the matters stated in the application and the legality of the intended marriage and that the case is one that merits the giving of permission for the purposes of section 8, or permission for the purposes of subsection 14(3), or his consent to the marriage being solemnized by wali Raja for the purposes of paragraph 13(b), as the case may be, shall, at any time after reference of the application to him and upon payment of the prescribed fee, issue to the applicants his permission to marry in the prescribed form.
Permission necessary before solemnization
No marriage shall be solemnized unless a permission to marry has been given—
(a) by the Registrar under section 17 or by the Syariah Judge under section 18, where the marriage involves a woman resident in the Federal Territory; or
(b) by the proper authority of a State, where the marriage involves a woman resident in that State.
Place of marriage
(1) No marriage shall be solemnized except in the kariah masjid in which the woman resides, but the Registrar or Syariah Judge giving permission to marry under section 17 or 18 may give permission for the marriage to be solemnized elsewhere, whether in the Federal Territory or in any State.
(2) A permission under subsection (1) may be expressed in the permission to marry given under section 17 or 18.
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a marriage may be solemnized in a kariah masjid other than that where the woman resides if—
(a) in a case where the woman resides in the Federal Territory, a permission for the marriage to be solemnized in that kariah masjid has been given under section 17 or 18 and the permission for the solemnization of the marriage in other kariah masjid has been given under subsection
(1); or
(b) in a case where the woman resides in a State, a permission to marry and a permission for the marriage to be solemnized in other kariah masjid have been given by the proper authority of that State.
Mas kahwin and pemberian
(1) The mas kahwin shall ordinarily be paid by the man or his representative to the woman or her representative in the presence of the person solemnizing the marriage and at least two other witnesses.
(2) The Registrar shall, in respect of every marriage to be registered by him, ascertain and record—
(a) the value and other particulars of the mas kahwin;
(b) the value and other particulars of any pemberian;
(c) the value and other particulars of any part of the mas kahwin or pemberian or both that was promised but not paid at the time of the solemnization of the marriage, and the promised date of payment; and
(d) particulars of any security given for the payment of any mas kahwin or pemberian.
Entry in Marriage Register
(1) Immediately after the solemnization of a marriage, the Registrar shall enter the prescribed particulars and the prescribed or other ta’liq of the marriage in the Marriage Register.
(2) The entry shall be attested to by the parties to the marriage, by the wali, and by two witnesses other than the Registrar, present at the time the marriage is solemnized.
(3) The entry shall then be signed by the Registrar.
Polygamy
(1) No man, during the subsistence of a marriage, shall, except with the prior permission in writing of the Court, contract another marriage with another woman nor shall such marriage contracted without such permission be registered under this Act:
Provided that the Court may if it is shown that such marriage is valid according to Hukum Syarak order it to be registered subject to section 123.
(2) Subsection (1) applies to the marriage in the Federal Territory of a man who is resident within or outside the Federal Territory and to the marriage outside the Federal Territory of a man resident in the Federal Territory.
(3) An application for permission shall be submitted to the Court in the prescribed manner and shall be accompanied by a declaration stating the grounds on which the proposed marriage is alleged to be just and necessary, the present income of the applicant, particulars of his commitments and his ascertainable financial obligations and liabilities, the number of his dependants, including persons who would be his dependants as a result of the proposed marriage, and whether the consent or views of the existing wife or wives on the proposed marriage have been obtained.
(4) On receipt of the application, the Court shall summon the applicant and his existing wife or wives to be present at the hearing of the application, which shall be in camera, and the Court may grant the permission applied for if satisfied—
(a) that the proposed marriage is just and necessary, having regard to such circumstances as, among others, the following, that is to say, sterility, physical infirmity, physical unfitness for conjugal relations, wilful avoidance of an order for restitution of conjugal rights, or insanity on the part of the existing wife or wives;
(b) that the applicant has such means as to enable him to support as required by Hukum Syarak all his wives and dependants, including persons who would be his dependants as a result of the proposed marriage;
(c) that the applicant would be able to accord equal treatment to all his wives as required by Hukum Syarak; and
(d) that the proposed marriage would not cause darar syarie to the existing wife or wives.
(e) (Deleted by Act A902).
(5) A copy of the application under subsection (3) and of the statutory declaration required by that subsection shall be served together with the summons on each existing wife.
(6) Any party aggrieved by or dissatisfied with any decision of the Court may appeal against the decision in the manner provided in the Administration Enactment for appeals in civil matters.
(7) Any person who contracts a marriage in contravention of subsection (1) shall pay immediately the entire amount of the mas kahwin and the pemberian due to the existing wife or wives, which amount, if not so paid, shall be recoverable as a debt.
(8) The procedure for solemnization and registration of a marriage under this section shall be similar in all respects to that applicable to other marriages solemnized and registered in the Federal Territory under this Act.
Solemnization of marriages in Malaysian Embassies, etc., abroad
(1) Subject to subsection (2), a marriage may be solemnized in accordance with Hukum Syarak by the Registrar appointed under subsection 28(3) at the Malaysian Embassy, High Commission, or Consulate in any country that has not notified the Government of Malaysia of its objection to solemnization of marriages at such Embassy, High Commission, or Consulate.
(2) Before solemnizing a marriage under this section, the Registrar shall be satisfied—
(a) that one or both of the parties to the marriage are residents of the Federal Territory;
(b) that each party has the capacity to marry according to Hukum Syarak and this Act; and
(c) that, where either party is not a resident of the Federal Territory, the proposed marriage, if solemnized, will be regarded as valid in the place where that party is resident.
(3) The procedure for solemnization and registration of a marriage under this section shall be similar in all respects to that applicable to other marriages solemnized and registered in the Federal Territory under this Act as if the Registrar appointed for a foreign country were a Registrar for the Federal Territory.
Source: Laws of Malaysia, Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia (lom.agc.gov.my). Not a copy of the Gazette printed by the Government Printer (Interpretation Acts 1948 and 1967, s 61).
