ENACTMENT NO. 6 OF 2002 ISLAMIC FAMILY LAW ENACTMENT 2002
PART II - MARRIAGE Preliminaries to a Marriage
Section 23. Polygamy
(1) No man during the subsistence of a marriage shall, except with the prior permission in writing of the Court, contract another marriage with another woman.
(2) No marriage contracted without the permission under subsection (1) shall be registered under this Enactment 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 124.
(3) Subsection (1) applies to the marriage in this State of a man who is resident within or outside this State and to the marriage outside this State of a man resident in this State.
(4) 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.
(5) On receipt of the application, the Court shall summon the applicant, his existing wife or wives, the woman to be wedded, the wali of the woman to be wedded, if any, and other persons 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, among others, the following circumstances, that is to say, sterility, physical infirmity, physical unfitness for conjugal relations, wilful avoidance of an order for restitution 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 fair 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.
(6) A copy of the application under subsection (4) and of the iqrar required by that subsection shall be served together with the summons on each existing wife and the woman to be wedded.
(7) 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 Enactment 2002.
(8) Any person who contracts a marriage in contravention of subsection (I) shall pay immediately the entire amount of the mas kahwin and pemberian due to the existing wife or wives, which amount if not so paid, shall be recoverable as a debt.
(9) The procedure for solemnization and registration of a marriage under this section shall in all respects be similar in all respects to that applicable to other marriages solemnized and registered in this State under this Enactment.
(10) Every Court that grants the permission or orders the marriage to be registered under this section shall have the power on the application by any party to the marriage-
(a) to require a man to pay maintenance to his existing wife or wives; or
(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.