JAKARTA: New rules on polygamy among male civil servants in Jakarta seek to “impose stricter conditions ” on the practice, the capital’s acting governor said on Monday ( Jan 20 ) amid criticism that they legitimise and promote such arrangements.
Acting Governor Teguh Setyabudi furthermore pledged his provincial authorities do not easily give the requests of female civil employees who wish to have more than one spouse.
Some of the new conditions, issued on Jan 6, include evidence of a single relationship lasting over 10 years, clinical proof that the first wife has a physical disability or chronic disease, written permission from the first wife, and court approval to ensure that the legal servant is financially capable of supporting various families, according to news outlet Tempo.
An person will not be allowed to get away with a monogamous relationship if it problems with his spiritual doctrines or has the potential to disrupt his standard duties.
If the legal slave is found to have violated the rules, he will face punitive action, Tempo reported.
“It is meant to tighten the existing rules, to protect them, to protect the wives’ and children’s rights, ” Teguh, who signed and approved the regulation, told the media on Monday ( Jan 20 ), as quoted by Kompas.
In his first explanation last Friday, Teguh emphasised that the main aim of the rules is to “protect the households of the legal servants”. He said conversations on the rules began in 2023 and participants included representatives from the Justice Ministry.
However, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Bima Arya Sugiarto said the municipal authorities issued the revised legislation because of the high divorce rate among Jakarta civil servants in 2024, when 116 cases were reported.
“The key point is to tighten the regulations on marriage so that they will not get divorced quickly, ” he said on Monday.
Indonesia introduced problems for marriage in the country in its 1974 Marriage Law, and procedures for female legal workers in 1983. While adult civil servants are allowed to have more than one wife, sexual civil servants are not allowed to remain one’s next, third or fourth wife, Kompas reported.