KOTA BARU – Amanah Wanita has called on authorities to persist in investigating an alleged marriage involving a deputy minister that had taken place across the border despite the ongoing movement control order (MCO).
Referring to pictures of the marriage certificate and a conversation about the act that have gone viral across social media, Amanah Wanita head Aiman Athirah Al-Jundi said under Islamic marriage traditions, there needs to be witnesses and other officials besides the kadi.
“Yet, this marriage purportedly went ahead over the telephone. Furthermore, MCO means that there is a limit in movement or crowding, as well as limited movement across states and neighbouring countries,” she said in questioning the incident .
Aiman Athirah pointed out the fact that Thailand’s Narathiwat Provincial Islamic Religious Council deputy president Abdul Aziz Che Mamat reportedly saying that an investigation needs to be conducted as “online” marriages are disallowed shows that an offence was committed.
Aiman Athirah added that marriages done outside the country always encounter problems back home due to the registration process.
Kelantan Amanah Wanita head Dr Hafidzah Mustakim expressed her hope that the authorities would act fairly in dispensing justice as it is unbecoming to get married during the MCO when marriages are not allowed due to Covid-19.
The purported act by the politician, she said, sets a bad example, as traders in Wakaf Che Yeh here are struggling to survive due to limited operating hours, while the community leader goes on to defy regulations.
“PAS of late seems to have lost its moral direction, with claims of a minister going out with a celebrity and now this allegation of polygamy,” she said.
She urged the Islamist party to recognise that the country is fighting a pandemic and that its leaders need to be exemplary in tough times.
The deputy minister from Kelantan had reportedly taken a third bride, believed to be from Selangor, on June 1.
The marriage became public knowledge following pictures of the couple’s marriage certificate as well as a conversation between the politician and the imam with two other men, believed to be witnesses, going viral across social media.
The marriage apparently occurred over the telephone, drawing further criticism. – The Vibes, July 6, 2021
