Try reaffirms belief in marriage

JAKARTA (JP): Vice President Try Sutrisno defended the institution of marriage yesterday, amid an increasing trend among young urban Indonesians to shun marriage in favor of cohabitation.

The young generation must be prepared to enter the marriage bond in accordance with religious teachings, custom and the cultural norms of the nation, said Try while opening a congress of the Board of Counselors on Marriage, Divorce and Separation at the Merdeka Selatan palace.

Marriage counselors, religious leaders, educators, and, above all, parents, must ensure that marriage as an institution continues to be respected in this age of increasing individualism and greater openness, Try said.

Young people must be steered away from the perception, now gaining currency among some people, that marriage is simply a legal contract rather than a sacred vow, he said.

The gathering of the marriage counselors is scheduled to elect a Role-model Mother from a nationwide selection.

Try said the congress was timely, given that Indonesia would be marking National Family Day on June 29.

He said that a resilient family was one of the pillars supporting national unity and resilience.

Marital discord and break-ups were bound to affect the children, said Try, who is the father of seven children. He said the children of unhappy or broken marriages encountered feelings of "frustration" and might seek "forms of escape that may affect their future." Such children could become a burden to "society and development", the vice president said, adding that the responsibility for such a course of events lay primarily with the parents concerned.

Try said the ideal parents were those who set a good example for their children. (emb)