A 40 year-old Muslim man charged with raping a 12 year-old girl and marrying her in Malaysia says he sees nothing wrong with his actions under sharia or Islamic law.

"There are many cases of men marrying underage girls," restaurant owner Ruduan Masmud told reporters.

"I do not see how my case can be any different," adding it was "suka sama suka" or mutual consent acceptable under sharia law.

In a case that has outraged rights activists Mr Masmud, a father of four from his first wife, allegedly raped the girl inside a car parked by a road in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of the Borneo state of Sabah, on February 16.

But on April 18 the girl withdrew her accusation against the man in a police report and said they are in the process of him taking her as his second wife.