Khairy Calls Out A "Misleading" Report Alleging That DPM Says Child Marriages Will Stay
The English daily has since changed its headline.
By Sadho Ram — 15 Nov 2018, 06:41 PM
The Malaysian Twittersphere is all praise for Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin who displayed his mature politics in calling out a news report by The Star Online which alleged the Deputy Prime Minister as saying that "Malaysia to allow child marriages to go on"
Earlier today, 15 November, The Star Online published an article titled "Malaysia to allow child marriages to go on, but tighter enforcement", which was written based on Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail's parliamentary reply to the opposition MP Khairy Jamaluddin.
However, as per Khairy's tweet, The Star Online's headline was "misleading and unfair" to the Deputy PM who "clearly said Malaysia is moving to ban child marriages".
At the time of publication, Twitter was buzzing with Khairy's tweet:
The tweet, with over 2,500 retweets, received several replies from netizens who praised Khairy for his mature politics and "not taking cheap points from the other end."
Khairy's defence of Dr Wan Azizah didn't go unnoticed
DPM Dr Wan Azizah and her Deputy Hannah Yeoh both took note of the tweet, thanking Khairy for practising a "mature political culture".
"Thank you for practising a mature political culture and for highlighting this issue to the public. I stand by my viewpoint to defend the future of children in the child marriage issue, Insyallah."
Meanwhile, The Star Online has now updated its headline to say, "Malaysia to have tighter rules on child marriages"
While the issue of child marriage became a hot topic in the country after a 41-year-old Kelantanese man took an 11-year-old girl as his third wife about four months ago, the current Malaysian Government's response to it has been less than satisfactory
However, by mid-2019, Putrajaya plans to amend two laws, the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 and Islamic Family Law (Federal Territory) Act 1984.
The move is to protect minors who enter such matrimony, according to Deputy Prime Minister cum Women, Family and Community Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
"The amendments to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 will be presented to the Cabinet in 2019. The amendment will include social reports, health reports and a police report to be submitted for underage marriage under Act 164 which is helmed by the Home Ministry," Dr Wan Azizah said in reply to Khairy's question.
"The government also plans on tabling a law for the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territory) Act and Act 164 during the second term of Dewan Rakyat 2019 at the latest."