Many Hindu, Buddhist marriages illegitimate

Many Hindu, Buddhist marriages illegitimate

JAKARTA (JP): Many marriages among Hindu and Buddhist communities in Indonesia may be illegitimate because they are not listed with the civil registry office, an official of the Ministry of Religious Affairs said.

"They have no marriage certificates which are important and a must for every married couple in this country," I Gusti Agung Kade Suthayasa of the Directorate General for the Guidance for Hindu and Buddhists, told reporters on Wednesday.

Although these couples were married in their local temples, the absence of any legal document could have strong repercussions on their rights and those of their children.

Suthayasa said many Buddhist and Hindu couples cannot register because their local civil registry offices do not employ priests from their respective religion who can perform the wedding.

This, he said, is a common problem in most areas except in big cities like Jakarta and in Bali, a predominantly Hindu island.

He blamed the problem on the red tape involved in recruiting Hindu and Buddhist priests for the civil registry offices, which are supervised by the provincial administrations and therefore come under the aegis of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Suthayasa said that in many cases, the councils for the two religions -- Hindu's Parisada and Buddhist's Walubi -- have proposed their candidates to the provincial administrations for the job, but their appointments were delayed. The fastest an application can be processed is one year, he added.

As a result, many Hindus and Buddhists only go through the religious rituals for the marriage, he said.

The problem emerged with the enactment of a law on marriages in 1974 which required non-Moslems to register with their local civil registry office to have their marriage validated.

In contrast, Moslems are required to register with the local Religious Affairs Offices which are established in every district. (01)