Aging couples taken to altar

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: A total of 511 elderly couples took religious marriage vows in a mass wedding here on Monday, along with 2,128 other couples.

State Minister of Population Haryono Suyono attended the ceremony in SoE, south Central Timor regency, and plans to give a recording of the unique event to President Soeharto.

Minister Hayono and his wife gave away the brides, while Governor Herman Musakabe acted as a witness to the weddings. Haryono said he believed the event should qualify for the Indonesian Museum of Records.

The elderly couples, some of the grooms were already over 80, had all lived as couples for years but had not wed in a religious ceremony. (yac/swe)