State enactments · Selangor
Islamic Family Law (State of Selangor) Enactment 2003
Islamic family law for Selangor, as held by this site. Every section has its own address, so references on this site can open the exact section.
An archive copy, not the current text. The e-Syariah portal did not answer on 13 October 2026 (UTC), so every section below was taken from the Internet Archive (Wayback Machine) copy of that portal, captures 2011–2019. Amendments made after the capture date are not included.
Key Parts only. What is held is the long title, sections 1 to 41 (preliminary, marriage, polygamy, registration and related offences) and section 120 to the end (harta sepencarian, appeals, penalties and general). Sections 42 to 119 (dissolution of marriage, maintenance, guardianship and legitimacy) were not fetched. The list of sections held is below.
Where this text comes from
Short title (section 1), Malay
Short title (section 1), English
Number
Enactment No. 2 of 2003
Enacting words, as written
Dates as recorded in the source header
Where the text was obtained
Law library of the e-Syariah portal (JKSM), through the Wayback Machine web-archive copy, captures 2011–2019
Accessed on
14 October 2026 (GST; 13 October 2026 UTC)
Languages held
Malay and English
How much was read
Key Parts: 62 of 138 numbered sections held
Key sections
Polygamy section
Polygamy without permission
s.124: a fine not exceeding RM1,000 or imprisonment not exceeding six months or both
Minimum age
Registration of marriage
Harta sepencarian on divorce
Definition of “Court”
What this text shows
- Section 23 in this text has ten subsections: the application and iqrar at s.23(4), the four conditions at s.23(5)(a)–(d), service of the application on each existing wife and the woman to be wedded at s.23(6), and the power to order maintenance or the division of jointly acquired assets at s.23(10). In Act 303 the same matters sit at s.23(3), s.23(4), s.23(5) and s.23(9).
- The offence of polygamy without permission is s.124, not s.123, because s.123 in this enactment is the appeals section. Its maximum penalty is the same as Act 303 s.123.
- Section 23 says only “the Court”. Section 2 defines it as the Syariah Subordinate Court or the Syariah High Court, as the case may be. The enactment itself does not fix the level of court for a polygamy application.
- Polygamy applications are heard in the Syariah High Court because of JKSM Practice Direction No. 14 of 2006 (in effect from 1 June 2006), not because of this enactment; the text of that practice direction was read on 14 October 2026.
Verified against a primary source
- The 2018 amendment: the Islamic Family Law (State of Selangor) (Amendment) Enactment 2018 [Enactment A56] came into operation on 18 March 2019, under Sel. P.U. 11 (Selangor Government Gazette, Vol. 72, Supplement No. 7, 1 April 2019; made 27 March 2019). Source: the gazette copy on the Majlis Agama Islam Selangor site (mais.gov.my), via the web archive; checked 14 Oct 2026.
- The original gazette text: the Selangor Government Gazette, Vol. 56 No. 15, Supplement No. 1, 24 July 2003, prints this enactment (Enactment No. 2 of 2003) in both languages, the Malay text from page 139 and the English text from page 221. The Malay text of s.8, s.23, s.39, s.122 and s.124, and the English text of s.8, s.39 and s.122, as shown on this site match that gazette. Source: the gazette scan on the Majlis Agama Islam Selangor site (mais.gov.my), via the web archive; read by OCR and checked against the page images, 14 Oct 2026.
- The minimum age is now 18 for both a man and a woman. Enactment A56, section 2 (Selangor Government Gazette, Vol. 71 No. 21, Supplement No. 3, 18 October 2018), amends s.8 by substituting for the words “jika lelaki itu berumur kurang daripada lapan belas tahun atau perempuan itu berumur kurang daripada enam belas tahun” (where either the man is under the age of eighteen or the woman is under the age of sixteen) the words “jika lelaki atau perempuan itu berumur kurang daripada lapan belas tahun” (where either the man or the woman is under the age of eighteen). The written permission of a Syarie Judge for a marriage below that age remains in s.8. A56 also inserts s.8A (an application for a man or woman under eighteen is commenced by a notice of application through the mother, father or guardian, with affidavits) and amends s.18(2). The amendment came into force on 18 March 2019. The s.8 text shown below is the original 2003 text and is no longer the current law. Source: the gazette scan on the MAIS site, via the web archive; checked against the page images, 14 Oct 2026.
- Section 39 (unauthorised solemnization): the difference is in the gazette itself, not a portal error. The Malay gazette text (page 170): “denda tidak melebihi satu ribu ringgit atau penjara tidak melebihi enam bulan atau kedua-duanya”. The English gazette text (page 249): “a fine not exceeding two thousand ringgit or with imprisonment not exceeding six months or with both”. Checked against the gazette images, 14 Oct 2026.
- Harta sepencarian (s.122(2)): this difference is also in the gazette itself. The Malay gazette text (page 212): “Mahkamah hendaklah membuat pembahagian yang sama banyak”. The English gazette text (page 286): “the Court shall incline towards equality of division”. Checked against the gazette images, 14 Oct 2026.
- Which text is authoritative when the Malay and English gazette texts differ: the National Language Acts 1963/67 [Act 32], section 6(c), provides that the texts “of all Enactments and subsidiary legislation issued by any State Government” shall be in the national language and in the English language, “the former being authoritative unless the Yang di-Pertuan Agong otherwise prescribes”. So for s.39 and s.122(2) of this enactment, the Malay text is authoritative. No contrary prescription for this enactment was found, but the prescriptions made under section 6 were not searched one by one. Source: the National Language Acts 1963/67 [Act 32], reprint incorporating amendments up to 1 January 2006, the Attorney General’s Chambers copy (agc.gov.my) via the web archive; read 14 Oct 2026.
To be checked for this State
The text held
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8A 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 53 58 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137
The text above is a copy for reference, copied unchanged from the source stated; spelling errors in the source are kept. The binding text is the one gazetted by this State, including the latest amendments. This page is not legal advice.
← All 14 instruments · Act 303: full text · Procedure by State · Review dates
Comments or feedback
Read only by the MYPolygyny administrator — never published.
About Us · Ask · Site Map · Privacy · Editorial policy · Disclaimer