Section 23 — ISLAMIC FAMILY LAW (FEDERAL TERRITORY) ACT 1984

(1A)

A marriage contracted without the permission of the Court under subsection (1) shall not be registered under this Act unless the

Court is satisfied that the marriage is valid according to Hukum

Syarak and the Court has ordered the marriage to be registered subject to section 123.

(2)

Subsection (1) applies to the marriage in the Federal Territory of a man who is resident within or outside the Federal Territory and to the marriage outside the Federal Territory of a man resident in the

Federal Territory.

(3)

An application for permission shall be submitted to the Court in the prescribed manner and shall be accompanied by an iqrar stating the grounds on which the proposed marriage is alleged to be just or necessary, the present income of the applicant, particulars of his commitments and his ascertainable financial obligations and liabilities, the number of his dependants, including persons who would be his dependants as a result of the proposed marriage, and whether the consent or views of the existing wife or wives on the proposed marriage have been obtained.

(4)

On receipt of the application, the Court shall summon the applicant and his existing wife or wives, the woman to be wedded, the wali of the woman to be wedded and any other person who, in the opinion of the Court, may provide information relating to the proposed marriage to be present at the hearing of the application, which shall be in camera, and the Court may grant the permission applied for if satisfied—

(a)

that the proposed marriage is just or necessary, having regard to such circumstances as, among others, the following, that is to say, sterility, physical infirmity, physical unfitness for conjugal relations, wilful avoidance of an order for restitution

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of conjugal rights, or insanity on the part of the existing wife or wives;

(b)

that the applicant has such means as to enable him to support as required by Hukum Syarak all his wives and dependants, including persons who would be his dependants as a result of the proposed marriage;

(c)

that the applicant would be able to accord equal treatment to all his wives as required by Hukum Syarak; and

(d)

that the proposed marriage would not cause darar syarie to the existing wife or wives.

(e)

(Deleted by Act A902).

(5)

A copy of the application under subsection (3) and of the iqrar required by that subsection shall be served together with the summons on each existing wife.

(6)

Any party aggrieved by or dissatisfied with any decision of the Court may appeal against the decision in the manner provided in the Syariah Civil Procedure (Federal Territories) Act 1988 [Act 585].

(7)

Any person who contracts a marriage in contravention of subsection (1) shall pay immediately the entire amount of the mas kahwin and the pemberian due to the existing wife or wives, which amount, if not so paid, shall be recoverable as a debt.

(8)

The procedure for solemnization and registration of a marriage under this section shall be similar in all respects to that applicable to other marriages solemnized and registered in the

Federal Territory under this Act.

(9)

Every Court that grants the permission or orders a marriage to be registered under this section shall have the power on the application by any party to the marriage—

(a)

to require a person to pay maintenance to his existing wife or wives; or

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(b)

to order the division between the parties of the marriage of any assets acquired by them during the marriage by their joint efforts or the sale of any such assets and the division of the proceeds of the sale.

Solemnization of marriages in Malaysian Embassies, etc., abroad