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.