S’gor Will Not Authorise Marriages Between Local Couples Conducted Abroad Without JAIS Registration

By Lara Kramer  •  09 Jan 2023 in News

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If a marriage between local individuals takes place outside of Selangor without first being registered with the state’s Islamic Religious Department (JAIS), the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS) does not acknowledge it.

Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof, chairman of MAIS, stated that although the marriage is regarded as valid in Islam, it is not recognised if couples do not register with JAIS.

He indicated that couples who don’t register their marriage will face a number of issues down the road.

“For instance, if the parents’ marriage is not certified and recognised in Selangor, dealing with their children’s upcoming marriages will be a challenging process,” he said. The same is true for the split of inheritance.

“There are no obstacles, there is plenty of room to get married in Malaysia”

He also told reporters after launching the Post-flood Contribution of MAIS and its subsidiaries to Terengganu and Kelantan on January 8 that “we hold a marriage course that no other country does, at the very least they ask questions about the rukun nikah (the conditions set out under Islamic law on the validity of the marriage solemnisation)”.

He further added that Selangor does not recognise any kind of wedding package that is provided outside of Malaysia, including those in Thailand and Indonesia.

In every district in the state, JAIS has an adequate number of registrars and marriage counsellors. The current state of affairs demonstrates that there is no restriction on any Muslim couple getting married using the established processes.

“However, there are still some couples who want to get married overseas, and neither we nor the provider of such packages ever recognise it,” he noted.