Poor couples skip marriage red tape

CIANJUR, West Java: The high cost of fees for marriage documents has prompted poor couples in the regency of Cianjur to skip the bureaucratic red tape and just live together.

A community leader in Cibeber, Wawan Juandi, 35, said couples in remote areas had to pay about Rp 300,000 (US$32) to have their marriage legalized.

That amount excluded the transportation expenses that must be paid to officials from the marriage registration office, he added.

Although undocumented marriages are legal under Islamic law, he said, but it could cause a problem in the future with legal issues such as property ownership.

In an attempt to resolve this matter, Wawan said he would ask the local administration to give an "amnesty" to those couples and provide them with proper documents. -- Antara