BUTTERWORTH: Police with the help of a social activist Wednesday evening foiled an impending marriage between an 11-year-old girl and a 21-year-old man from within the Rohingya community here.
The incident unfolded at around 5pm when social activist K. Sudhagaran Stanley, who is also one of the founders of a private school for the Rohingya in Seberang Prai, was notified of the proposed marriage of a child bride.
He informed theSun, which then accompanied him as he lodged a police report at the Seberang Prai Utara district police headquarters here.
The police immediately swung into action, assigning a case officer from the criminal investigations department to probe the matter. The officer called up various religious authorities to intervene, while a police patrol vehicle was dispatched to the address.
Stanley, who is also the northern region coordinator for anti-corruption crusaders, the Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4), was called up to help the police in the interim investigations.
Upon arriving at the scene, the police and Stanley were taken aback to see a rather big wedding feast where the participants and the child bride’s father confirmed that the marriage was supposed to take place.
Invitation cards were distributed and a feast was prepared to mark the occasion.
The bride’s father was overheard telling the police that the family had no choice but to marry off their daughter due to financial constraints. They have another young daughter too.
“It is within our culture and my future son-in-law has promised to be a dutiful husband to my daughter.”
Hussain Ismail, a Rohingya community elder, said there were not many Rohingya women here so it was just logical for the men to opt for child brides.
It was learnt that the person (kadi) who was to solemnise the marriage was also from the community, but he was not certified with the religious authorities.
Stanley told those present that Malaysian civil laws generally disallow child marriages and the government was working to put a stop to it in all states.
“It may be a practise and culturally accepted but it is morally wrong in this modern age. And you should respect Malaysian customs as you are living in Malaysia where such acts are regarded with contempt.”
Stanley promised to help the family mitigate their financial shortcomings, but he insisted that the child bride be allowed to continue schooling, and the marriage postponed until the bride was at least 18.
The father later relented after three hours of discussions.
Police said they will refer the case to the state religious authorities for follow-up action.
Stanley said that he would liaise with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Kuala Lumpur on this matter, especially if the refugees ignored the advice rendered by the police and him.
“If they persist, perhaps UNHCR can revoke their refugees’ status and we repatriate them to Rakhine (Myanmar) despite the conflict there.”
He also believes that several such marriages have already taken place in Penang.
Meanwhile, Penang executive councilor in charge of women affairs, Chong Eng paid tribute to Stanley for his courage, but admitted that it was largely a cultural issue as well as one of social status as such families are usually impoverished.
To overcome it, there must be a policy change in the country, with support from various authorities including the UNHCR, said Chong Eng.
She added that children must be allowed access to education and in a perfect setting; each child must be able to dictate their own destiny.
But in a reality, Chong Eng said child marriages are still practised among the Rohingya and other communities.
“They have come to accept it and the Pakatan Harapan Government must come up with a comprehensive policy to address the issue as we deplore it.”
