Try reaffirms belief in marriage

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)