Cohabitation

Cohabitation

Some newspapers and magazines carried a report recently
headlined 'A preacher in Jakarta married a girl illegally'. He is
accused of practicing 'kumpul kebo' or co-habitation. It was
reported in Surabaya, East Java, that the Surabaya Civil Registry
Office refused to register the couple because their religion is
Confucianism, and their wedding ritual was conducted in Boen Bio,
a Confucian temple in Jl. Kapasan, Surabaya. Then through their
lawyer, Trimoelja D. Soerjadi, a winner of the Yap Thiam Hien
Award, the couple sued the Office in the Public Administration
Court (PTUN) in Surabaya. Should they retain their "co-
habitation" status?

Marriage Law No.1/1974 clearly states the couple should marry
based on their religious ritual first before being registered in
the Civil Registry Office. There was indeed no statement that a
couple should marry in any specific religion.

The problem is that Confucianism is deemed an "illegal and un-
recognized" religion. Even some government officials regard
Confucianism as a non-religion. But President Soeharto has said
on many occasions that Indonesia does not recognize the terms
legal or illegal religions. All religions should co-exist
harmoniously.

ANLY

Surabaya, East Java