KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - The Federation of Chinese Associations of Malaysia (Hua Zong) has asked the Government to act against assistant marriage registrars who abuse their power, instead of blaming Chinese guilds and associations for the registration of fake marriages.

Hua Zong president Tan Sri Pheng Yin Huah said the National Registration Department (NRD) should suspend or terminate the licences of those who misuse their authority.

He said NRD should not implement a more complicated and time-consuming procedure for couples who want to register their marriage at Chinese associations or religious organisations just because of the incidents of fake marriages in the country.

“It should not put the blame on us and implement a new policy that makes things complicated for us,” he told a press conference yesterday on the issue of marriage registration at Chinese associations and religious organisations.

Effective April 1, couples who want to register their marriage at Chinese associations and religious organisations must be present at a NRD office to apply for marriage registration and have their unmarried status verified.

The new ruling is meant to prevent “marriages of convenience” between local men and foreign women, some of whom made use of the opportunity to extend their stay in the country and to get involved in vice.

This ruling came about following complaints about assistant registrars who conducted marriages of underaged couples without the parents’ written consent.

Pheng stressed that the Chinese associations and religious organisations with assistant registrars had offered their services according to NRD procedures. “For couples who are underaged, their parents are required to be present during the registration ceremony,” he said.