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?"