Batam to soon launch raids on unwed couples living together<\/p>\n
Fadli, Batam<\/p>\n
The Batam municipal government will soon launch a raid against
\nunmarried couples living together.<\/p>\n
The plan will be executed in August this year, following the
\nrecent order by Batam Mayor Nyat Kadir, said Rayanis Aminah, the
\nspokesman of the Batam social affairs office.<\/p>\n
\"The raid was supposed to be held in March, but it was delayed
\nto allow information on the raid to be disseminated,\" said
\nRayanis.<\/p>\n
Without prior information, the government is concerned that
\nthe raid would spark public protests, especially from those
\nunmarried couples.<\/p>\n
In anticipation of such a scenario, the social office started
\nan information drive in April on the planned raid. The social
\noffice informed community and neighborhood units in six out of
\neight districts in the municipality of the plan, said Rayanis.<\/p>\n
\"The neighborhood and the community units are expected to
\nconvey our message to the residents living in their respective
\nunits. We hope that they will inform the residents soon, so that
\nwe can immediately proceed with the raid,\" said Rayanis, without
\nsaying precisely when the office would conduct the raid.<\/p>\n
Rayanis argued that the raids were lawful under local Bylaw
\nNo. 6 on social order.<\/p>\n
In the bylaw, couples found living together without a marriage
\nlicense face a maximum fine of Rp 5 million (US$590.00) and would
\nbe married off en masse.<\/p>\n
The planned raid is aimed at reducing the number of unmarried
\ncouples in Batam, which currently stand at approximately 2,000
\ncouples. Couples living together out of wedlock are regarded as a
\ndisturbance to public order in Batam, which follows Malay and
\nIslamic cultural norms.<\/p>\n
A physician and also a women's rights activist earlier said
\nthat several factors had contributed to the high rate of couples
\nliving together out of wedlock.<\/p>\n
Evianora Azwar, the physician at the Nongsa community health
\ncenter here, said that most of the couples were between the ages
\nof 18 and 25 and were sexually active. They usually are migrants
\nwith no parents to monitor them, a situation that has led to
\npromiscuity, she said.<\/p>\n
There were also 2,000 sex workers operating in Batam, she
\nsaid. Some of them had become mistresses to Singaporean or
\nMalaysian nationals living about 40 minutes from the city.<\/p>\n
They lived in housing complexes or boarding houses around the
\nNagoya area here.<\/p>\n
Azhari Abbas, the chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council
\n(MUI) in Batam, asked the government to be more serious about the
\ndrive. He said that he had heard of the plan about three months
\nago, but it never materialized.<\/p>\n
\"There should be no more delay. The huge number of couples
\nliving out of the wedlock disturb our community,\" said Azhari.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/batam-to-soon-launch-raids-on-unwed-couples-living-together-1447893297",
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