Standardise legal age for marriage, UN rep tells gov't

Malaysia should take the "difficult" step and get rid of the difference in legal age of marriage between syariah and civil laws, in its efforts to ban child marriage, a United Nations officer specialising in the matter said today.

Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, who is the UN special rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, said there should be no exception on the objective to raise the minimum marriageable age to 18...