.... His comments came as the Muslim-majority South-east Asian country passed a law on sexual offences against children without criminalising child marriage.
Datuk Shabudin Yahaya, MP for Tasek Gelugor and a member of the multi-ethnic Barisan Nasional governing coalition, made the comments in reply to a proposal by an opposition MP to amend the Sexual Offences Against Children Bill to include a ban on child marriages.
But the proposal was voted down by the majority of the House.
Said Mr Shabudin on Tuesday during a debate on the Bill: "They reach puberty at the age of nine or 12. And at that time, their body is already akin to them being 18 years old. So physically and spiritually, it is not a barrier for the girl to marry."
He also said there was "nothing wrong" with a rape victim marrying her rapist, as she would then not face a "bleak future". [The Straits Times] Read more
