The National Registration Department's (NRD) new marriage registration procedure does not require couples intending to get married to appear for the second time at the NRD office but to choose a place convenient to them to register their marriage.
Its spokesman said the new procedure introduced on April 1 stipulated that couples must appear for the first time at the NRD to register their marriage and could then appear at the NRD or before the assistant registrar of marriages at the temple or church after their registration form had been validated by the NRD.
She said their first appearance at the NRD was to enable the department to check the status of their personal information and the JPN KC02 form to be stamped for validity with the fee charged still at RM20.
"The new procedure is aimed at uniformity and better monitoring and security of documents or data based on the MS ISO 9001:2008 and in line with the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 (Act 164).
"The implementation of the new procedure does not totally take away the power of the assistant registrar of marriages when marriages are registered at the temple, church or association premises," she said when contacted here Friday.
Under the old procedure, it was not compulsory for couples to go to the NRD to register their marriage but could do so through the assistant registrar of marriages.
Rejecting the MCA's claim that the new procedure was burdensome, the spokesman said it was aimed at avoiding illegal marriages which would have implications on the status of the children born from the union and giving of false information on marital status, besides enabling checking of couples' personal information online or from old records.
"This new procedure will prevent the problem of producing illegitimate children as polygamy is not allowed for non-Muslims. So, with this procedure a woman will know whether her partner is already married or not."
She said the implementation of the new procedure had started in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Kelantan and Negri Sembilan, and the NRD was now conducting briefing sessions and training for all the registered assistant registrar of marriages to ensure they understood the procedure and adhered to it.
"Adherence to the procedure is important as the appointment of the assistant registrar of marriages comes under Section 28(3) of the Act (Act 164) while the power to conduct the marriage rite is provided under Section 24(1) of the same Act."
She said offenders could be jailed for up to 10 years and fined up to RM15,000 upon conviction
