Permission to Marry
In this day and age, the concept of obtaining permission before you may marry the girl is a little hetero-normative and antiquated. However, until 31 December 2017 the law dictates that if the bride or groom were aged between 18 and 21, he/she would need to get the consent of his/her father before being able to marry due to their young age[1]. If the bride were under the age of 18 but above the age of 16, she would need to get the consent of the Chief Minister of that state.
As a simple example, we shall examine this in the context of Disney princesses[2]:
A) Snow White would have been unable to get married in Malaysia as she is under the age of 16;
B) Ariel[3], Mulan and Belle[4] (all being between the ages of 16 – 18) would all have needed consent from their local Chief Minister before getting married to their love interests; and
C) As badass as Pocahontas and Tiana[5] were, being under the age of 21, they would still need consent from their dad before getting married in Malaysia.
The old section 12 read as follows :
12. (1) A person who has not completed his or her twenty-first year shall, notwithstanding that he or she shall have attained the age of majority as prescribed by the Age of Majority Act 1971 [Act 21], nevertheless be required, before marrying, to obtain the consent in writing—
(a) of his or her father;
(b) if the person is illegitimate or his or her father is dead, of his or her mother;
(c) if the person is an adopted child, of his or her adopted father, or if the adopted father is dead, of his or her adopted mother; or
(d) if both his or her parents (natural or adopted) are dead, of the person standing in loco parentis to him or her before he or she attains that age, but in any other case no consent shall be required.
In short, Pocahontas could not have married John Smith without her dad’s permission, and Tiana could not have married Prince Naveen if her mother (because her father had passed away) had not consented. Rapunzel on the other hand, because her “mother” was instead acting in loco parentis, needed her “mother’s” consent to get married. No consideration is given to a hierarchy need of needing a male’s permission and barring his presence only then could the matriarch give consent.
The Amendment
The Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) (Amendment) Act 2017 introduced an amended section 12 which read :
12. (1) A person who has not completed his or her twenty-first year shall, notwithstanding that he or she shall have attained the age of majority as prescribed by the Age of Majority Act 1971 [Act 21], nevertheless be required, before marrying, to obtain the consent in writing—
(a) of his or her father; or mother
(b) if the person is illegitimate of his or her mother;
(c) if the person is an adopted child, of his or her adopted father or adopted mother; or
(d) if both his or her parents (natural or adopted) are dead, of the person standing in loco parentis to him or her before he or she attains that age, but in any other case no consent shall be required."
This in effect gives equal footing to the consent of a mother (both birth and adopted) in obtaining permission to marry a person between the age of 18 and 21. While in practice, it is often the case that the consent of both parents will be given for such a marriage, it is a positive step by the legislature to recognise the equal role of mothers. The amendment also removes any consent requirements from a father where a child is born out of wedlock, aligning the law with other aspects such as inheritance and family name laws.
In short, legislation now recognises the consent of mothers where a child under the age of 21 wishes to get to married without needing the family patriarch to have met his maker or be otherwise incapable. In addition, it allows dads everywhere to tell their kids to “Go ask your mum!” where a child comes home and insists on marrying their significant other.
[1] Section 12 Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976
[2] Many of whom are underage! Shocker, I know.
[3] From the Little Mermaid
[4] From Beauty and the Beast
[5] From the Princess and the Frog