Indonesian birth certificate ruling annoying

Indonesian birth certificate ruling annoying

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Ucok, the only son in his family, almost lost his chance to
receive an inheritance from his parents despite all of the good
things he did. He went to a reputed state university, got a good
job and dated a nice woman.

He also stayed away from such vices as smoking and drinking.

But his parents warned him that one day, when they passed
away, Ucok would not get an inheritance.

And this was just because of a name.

Ucok is Batak. For the Bataks, as well as several other ethnic
groups in the country, the family name is very important. They
consider the family name their identity, which tells of their
ancestry.

But Ucok's ID card does not bear his family name, nor do his
diplomas, driver's license or passport. Which upset his parents
greatly.

Don't blame Ucok, because his name on all of the official
documents were based on what was written in the birth
certificate.

As a matter of fact, it is not allowed to put one's family
name in the birth certificate.

The head of the Central Jakarta Population and Civil
Registration Office, Eddy Suryadi, acknowledged that many people
complained about the surname policy.

"I understand their objections, but that is what the
regulations say," he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Eddy said that the state used the Dutch-era Staatsblad, or
state law, to regulate birth certificate procedures.

It stipulates that a birth certificate must contain the date
and time of birth, the person's given name and sex, both parents'
given names and surnames, the parents' jobs, the parents'
address, and the residence of the person who reported the birth
to the state.

The implication being that surnames are not allowed on the
birth certificates.

The Staatsblad, made by the Dutch colonial government, has
different regulations for Caucasians, Chinese and Middle
Easterners, as well as native Indonesians.

The Indonesia government has scrapped parts of the
Staatsblad, while retaining other parts.

The ban on the use of the family name was meant to homogenize
the country's citizens.

In 1961, then president Sukarno, who, like most Javanese, only
had one name, signed Law No.4/1961 which allows any adult
Indonesian to change his or her family name.

On March 21, 1974, the Civil Directorate of the Ministry of
Justice issued a letter stating that it was not necessary to put
a family name on birth certificates.

Because many people complain about the ban on family names on
birth certificates, Eddy said his office always drafted an
additional letter explaining that a person had a family name.

He said a person could have their family name printed on their
ID card or other documents by showing this letter.

Another Batak, R. Hutabarat, shared his experience when he
applied for a birth certificate for his son in a civil
registration office here in 1984.

"I insisted on putting my family name on my son's birth
certificate, but the officer refused, saying that it was not
allowed," he said, adding that he never received a letter from
the office about his son's family name.

As a result, his son was not allowed to put the family name on
his school diplomas.

But other people have had different experiences.

Rosie Korompis, who is a Manadonese, said her son had her
husband's family name on his birth certificate.

"The hospital where I gave birth to my son helped me with the
certificate application. I only paid Rp 250,000," she said.

According to city bylaw No. 3/1999 on public service fees, it
should only cost Rp 5,000 for a birth certificate, which should
be issued five days after the applicant files a request at a
subdistrict office.

People can apply for a birth certificate at a subdistrict
office, which sends the application to the Population and Civil
Registration Office in the appropriate mayoralty.

So, had Shakespeare known Ucok, he may have asked, "What is
your family name?" instead of "What is in a name?"