Confucian couple fights for recognition

Confucian couple fights for recognition

By Sirikit Syah

SURABAYA (JP): Budi Wijaya and Lanny Guito say they don't ask
for much: They are married and want their union to be recognized
by the government.

But its not that simple. The Surabaya civil registry office
will not register or issue them a marriage certificate unless
they select one of the five recognized faiths in Indonesia:
Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism and Hinduism.

"It's a matter of faith. I could not say that we're, for
instance, Buddhist, when in fact we're not," Budi told The
Jakarta Post at their shop-house here on Tuesday.

The couple have been under stress since their legal battle
begun earlier this year, and are also feeling pressure from their
relatives, especially the older ones.

"We're of Chinese descent. The old Chinese people believe that
one of the ways to survive in this life is by compromising," Budi
said. "They are saddened by what's happening to us. They want us
to compromise...meaning that we should say whatever needed as
long as we can be legally registered as married people."

Budi was born into Confucianism. He could not imagine being
anything else.

He met Lanny eight years ago when they worked at Tri Pustaka,
a magazine published by MAKIN, a Confucianism council. Budi was
then chief editor, and Lanny one of the editors. After seven
years together, they were married in July 1995 in a ceremony at
the Boen Bio temple on Jl. Kapasan.

A week after the religious ceremony, on Aug. 1, Budi visited
the civil registry office to register his marriage. "They refused
to register us saying that Confucianism is not a religion here,
and suggested that we state Buddhist, as many other Confucian
couples have done," Budi said.

On Aug. 7, Budi sent the office a formal letter reiterating
his request to be registered. Four months later, the office
formally rejected his request. That's when Budi decided to find a
lawyer and sue the civil registry office.

"All we want is to be registered as a formally married
couple," he said.

Three weeks ago, not long after the trial began, a baby girl
was born to Budi and Lanny. She hasn't been given a name because
her father could not request a birth certificate without a
marriage certificate.

The new parents have 60 days to register the baby's birth and
request a birth certificate. "We hope our case will be solved
before the 60 days time is up so that our baby can have a legal
status," Budi said. "If I registered her now, she would be
written in the birth certificate as being born out of wedlock.
Can you imagine the stigma she would have to grow up with?"

Ambivalent

Lawyers and experts have already lambasted the government's
ambivalent stand on Confucianism, questioning its authority to
exclude Confucianism from the original list of six religions
recognized in Indonesia as guaranteed by law.

The debate flared earlier this year when newspapers reported
on Budi and Lanny's suit against the civil registry office.

The office based its rejection on a Ministry of Home Affairs
decree and other documents. The officials argued that, according
to the documents, Confucianism is "not a religion but simply a
school of philosophy."

Budi and Lanny's lawyer Trimoelja D. Soerjadi believes that
Confucianism has a legal basis, from the 1945 Constitution to
lower laws such as Law No. 1/1974 on marriage.

Trimoelja said that the confusion stems from Presidential
Decree No. 45/1974, which stipulates that the government
recognizes only five religions. He argues that the decree is
inconsistent with the higher law, namely the Constitution, which
guarantees the people's right to embrace a faith of their choice.

Indonesian Confucianism believers constitute 0.7 percent
(about 1,365,000) of Indonesia's 195 million population.

Worry

There are several other things that bother Lanny, Budi said.

"She's worried about our marital status. She's afraid what
would happen if I left her, which she thinks I can do easily
given that we don't have a marriage certificate," he said.

"She's also worried about our baby. If the baby's not legally
registered as the offspring of a legal marriage, then I could
just abandon her and Lanny wouldn't be able to demand anything
from me.

"I'm not that kind of man, of course. She knows me very well,
and she trusts me well enough. But her fears are quite
understandable," Budi said.

Many Confucian Chinese couples register as Buddhist couples.
One month before Budi's request was turned down, the civil
registry office had received an application from another
Confucian couple, thought they too were turned down a month
later.

The judges trying Budi's case have stated that they will not
decide if Indonesia officially recognizes a sixth religion, but
will focus on whether or not the office's rejection has a legal
basis.

"The judges' statement was ridiculous because this case is
really about religion," Budi said.

Budi, Lanny, MAKIN and Trimoelja have all vowed that they will
press on with the case. MAKIN spokesman Anly Cenggana expressed
confidence that they would win. "If we lose, we'll go to a higher
court," Budi said.

Budi said he felt strong thanks to the many people that
support their campaign. Noted scholars such as theologian Th.
Sumartana, sociologist Arief Budiman and Moslem leader
Abdurrahman Wahid have all expressed sympathy for the couple.

However, Budi does not feel like he is on a crusade for other
Confucian couples. "I'm not trying to be a hero. I just want to
win. Perhaps it could clear the way for other couples. I hope it
will," he said.