Selangor Friday sermon: There are perils in eloping

SHAH ALAM - Muslim men in Selangor who went for today's Friday prayer were reminded on the dangers of syndicated marriages done outside of the country.

The warning echoed by the Friday sermon prepared by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) pointed the complex documentation perils and nuptial re-registration woes couples will have to deal with once they return to Malaysia after eloping.

“The marriage registration process will consume a long time for it involves documentation and proceedings for re-registration, which requires verification from the court.

"And it gets more complicated if documents provided are inadequate or forged,” read the text which was read at all mosques in Selangor today.

The sermon titled “The Danger of Syndicated Marriage” also highlighted that couples who failed to re-register their marriage in Malaysia, will be unable to register their children's birth due to the lack of a valid marriage certificate.

“We must realize that marriage certificate is vital in our lives as husbands and wives.

"Without it, we will be unable to register our children’s birth as we would normally do, hence causing the status of citizenship and legitimation to be unascertained," read the sermon.

Failing to obtain such certificate will also prevent wedded couples from pursuing divorce, alimony, custodial and polygamous rights and marital wealth.

In the case of those eloping to marry foreign spouses, the sermon mentioned that failing to re-register their nuptials in Malaysia will usually result in a difficulty for their significant other to obtain visa to continue their stay in the country.

“Those married to foreign spouse who think that it is convenient [to do so] because one does not need permission from those responsible for that foreign spouse, may need to think twice.

"Because the registration process for unauthorized marriage consumes a long time this will usually cause difficulty in obtaining a visa [for their spouses] to continue living in this country," read the sermon text.