A marriage contracted outside Malaysia other than a marriage solemnized in a Malaysian Embassy, High Commission or Consulate under section 26, shall be recognised as valid for all purposes of the law of Malaysia if-

(a) it was contracted in a form required or permitted by the law of the country where it was contracted;

(b) each of the parties had, at the time of the marriage, capacity to marry under the law of the country of his or her domicile; and

(c) where either of the parties is a citizen of or is domiciled in Malaysia, both parties had capacity to marry according to this Act.

A marriage contracted in any foreign Embassy, High Commission or Consulate in Malaysia shall be recognised as valid for all purposes of the law of Malaysia if-

(a) it was contracted in a form required or permitted by the law of the country whose Embassy, High Commission or Consulate it is, or in a form permitted under this Act;

(a) each of the parties had, at the time of the marriage, capacity to marry under the law of the country of his or her domicile; and

(c) where either of the parties is a citizen of or is domiciled in Malaysia, both parties had capacity to marry under this Act.

(1) No person shall petition for divorce, except under sections 51 and 52, unless he or she has first referred the matrimonial difficulty to a conciliatory body and that body has certified that it has failed to reconcile the parties:

Provided that this requirement shall not apply in any case-

(i) where the petitioner alleges that he or she has been deserted by and does not know the whereabouts of his or her spouse;

(ii) where the respondent is residing abroad and it is unlikely that he or she will enter the jurisdiction within six months next ensuing after the date of the petition;

(iii) where the respondent has been required to appear before a conciliatory body and has wilfully failed to attend;

(iv) where the respondent is imprisoned for a term of five years or more;

(v) where the petitioner alleges that the respondent is suffering from incurable mental illness; or

(vi) where the court is satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances which make reference to a conciliatory body impracticable.

(2) A matrimonial difficulty may be referred to any conciliatory body acceptable to both parties but, where they are unable to agree on a conciliatory body, shall be referred to the marriage tribunal for the area in which they reside or, where they are living in different areas, to the marriage tribunal for the area in which they had last resided together.

(3) A "conciliatory body" means-

(a) a council set up for the purposes of reconciliation by the appropriate authority of any religion, community, clan or association;

(b) a marriage tribunal; or

(c) any other body approved as such by the Minister by notice in the Gazette.

(4) A marriage tribunal shall be set up for such specified area or district as the Minister may decide, consisting of a Chairman and not less than two nor more than four other members who shall be nominated by the Minister, or by such officer to whom the Minister may have delegated his powers to in that behalf.

(5)

(a) A conciliatory body to which a matrimonial difficulty has been referred shall resolve it within the period of six months from the date of reference; and shall require the attendance of the
parties and shall give each of them an opportunity of being heard and may hear such other persons and make such inquiries as it may think fit and may, if it considers it necessary, adjourn its proceedings
from time to time.

(b) If the conciliatory body is unable to resolve the matrimonial difficulty to the satisfaction of the parties and to persuade them to resume married life together, it shall issue a certificate to that effect and may append to its certificate such recommendations as it thinks fit regarding maintenance, division of matrimonial property and the custody of the minor children, if any, of the marriage.

(c) No advocate or solicitor shall appear or act as such for any party in any proceeding before a conciliatory body and no party shall be represented by any person, other than a member of his or her family, without the leave of the conciliatory body.

(1) The Registrar General shall maintain a register of divorces and annulments and shall forthwith enter therein the prescribed particulars of all decrees of divorce and annulment sent to him under subsection (2) and of all decrees of divorce and annulment for the registration of which application is made under subsection (3).

(2) Every court which grants a decree of divorce or annulment shall forthwith send one certified true copy of the decree to the Registrar General for registration.

(3) Where a marriage which is solemnized in Malaysia is dissolved or annulled by a decree of a court of competent jurisdiction outside Malaysia, either of the parties may apply to the Registrar General for the registration of such decree and the Registrar General, on being satisfied that the decree is one which should be recognised as valid for the purposes of the law of Malaysia, shall register that decree.

(4) Where a decree of divorce or annulment, wherever granted, has dissolved a marriage which was solemnized in Malaysia and which has been registered under this Act or any written law in force immediately before the coming into force of this Act, the Registrar General shall, on registering such decree, cause the entry in the register of marriage relating to that marriage to be marked with the word "Dissolved" and a reference to the proceedings in which that decree was granted.

(1) The Rules Committee may make rules regulating the practice and procedure in all matrimonial proceedings under this Act as they consider expedient and also rules to fix and regulate the fees and costs payable upon all such proceedings; and subject thereto all proceedings under this Act shall be regulated by the Divorce and Matrimonial Proceedings Rules 1980.

(2) The Minister may make rules for the purposes of this Act and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, such rules may provide for-

(a) prescribing the manner in which the Registrars shall exercise the powers conferred on them by this Act;

(b) the form of marriage registers and certificates of marriage and the mode in which the same are to be kept;

(c) the mode in which the Registrar General, the Superintendent Registrars, the Registrars and Assistant Registrars shall keep certificates of marriage, marriage registers and indices thereof;

(d) the supply and the safe custody of marriage registers, Registrars' note-books and all declarations made for the purposes of this Act;

(e) the preparation and submission of returns of marriages solemnized in Malaysia and abroad and of marriages registered under this Act;

(f) the forms of any certificates, notices or other documents required for the purpose of carrying out this Act;

(g) the making of searches and the giving of certified copies;

(h) fixing the fees chargeable for the purposes of this Act.

(1) Subject to subsection (2), the written laws or provisions of the written laws to the extent specified in the Schedule are repealed.

(2) All proceedings commenced under the Divorce Ordinance 1952 [Ord. 74 of 1952], Sabah Divorce Ordinance 1963 [Sabah Ord. 7 of 1963], and Matrimonial Causes Ordinance [Sarawak Cap. 94] repealed shall, so far as practicable, be continued under this Act and for this purpose, every petition for divorce other than one on which a decree nisi has been granted, shall be deemed to be a petition for divorce under this Act and the grounds set out in the petition shall be deemed to be the principal allegations which it will be sought to prove as evidence of the breakdown of the marriage, but every such petition shall, unless the court otherwise orders, be stayed pending reference to a conciliatory body; and where a decree nisi has been granted, the proceedings shall continue as if this Act has not been passed.

(3) The Registration of Marriages Ordinance 1952 [Ord. 53 of 1952] is extended to Sabah and Sarawak.