JOHOR BARU: Johor has raised the marriageable age to 18 years for Muslims and non-Muslims in the state.

Mentri Besar Datuk Osman Sapian (pic) said previously, the marriageable age in Johor was 18 years for men and 16 years for women.

"The decision to raise the marriageable age was made following a suggestion by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to standardise the minimum age for marriage in all states during a meeting between with mentris besar and chief ministers last week in Putrajaya," he said.

Osman told reporters after presenting awards to winners of the Anugerah Perdana Belia Johor at Dewan Jubli Intan here on Sunday (Oct 21).

However, he said if there were cases involving those below 18 years old who want to get married in Johor, they have to get permission from the Mentri Besar.

"We will treat each case accordingly and if the parties involved could come out with good reasons, we will give our permission for the marriage to take place," said Osman.

Dr Mahathir had on Tuesday (Oct 16) chaired the 132nd meeting of the mentris besar and chief ministers at Perdana Putra, the first such meeting after Pakatan Harapan came to power.

At the meeting, the Prime Minister had reportedly issued a directive ordering all state governments in Malaysia to raise the legal minimum marriage age to 18 years for Muslims and non-Muslims.