Civil marriage registration not religious ceremony, NRD clarifies amid Home Minister's viral video controversy

SHAH ALAM - The process of registering civil marriages does not involve, resemble or represent any religious rituals or customs of any community, the National Registration Department (NRD) clarifies.

The department was referring to a video which went viral on social media showing the Home Minister registering a civil marriage of non-Muslim couples at the NRD office in Putrajaya during the department's silver jubilee celebration earlier this morning.

In a statement, NRD said the department was responsible for conducting civil marriage registrations and recording marriage and divorce information for non-Muslims in accordance with the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 (Act 164).

Under the act, it said the Home Minister was responsible for civil marriage registrations, allowing them to register marriages for non-Muslim couples.

Besides the minister, NRD Director-General, Deputy Director-General, Director of the Marriage and Divorce Division, State Registration Director as well as NRD officers and staff working in the Marriage and Divorce Division were also given such authority.

"The video showed the Home Minister being invited by NRD to officiate the department's silver jubilee celebration today and part of the programme includes registering the civil marriages of two couples selected by the department.

"NRD wants to emphasise that the civil marriage registration sessions conducted at the department are based on the civil law under Act 164. The process of registering civil marriages does not involve, resemble or represent any religious rituals or customs of any community.

"The declaration uttered (by those who registered for marriage) is a statement outlined under Section 23 of the Act and is purely a legal declaration of a civil marriage.

"It is also the consent and willingness of the couple to accept the marriage willingly without any pressure from any party," the statement read.

Morever, it said the civil marriage registration session with the Home Minister was held as a special event for selected couples during the National Registration Day celebration each year.

NRD also advised the public to stop spreading false information and carefully examine the news they consumed to ensure the continued public peace of the country.

Those who have any inquiries can contact NRD at 03-8880 7077 or email at [email protected].

Earlier, a viral video showing Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail registering a civil marriage of non-Muslim couples drew a variety of responses and sparked further assumptions from social media users.