The public was shocked by the marriage of Tarman, 74, to Shela Arika, 24.
Not because of their age difference.
But because of the dowry, which turned out to be a bounced check.
The Secretary General of the Ministry of Religious Affairs requested that marriage officiants and marriage registration offices conduct administrative checks before the marriage contract is held.
He emphasized the importance of caution in the marriage registration process.
He stated that marriage is a sacred act of worship.
There should be no elements of joking or even fraud.
“So I urge my colleagues, marriage registration officials across Indonesia, to truly carry out their duties well, with trustworthiness and caution,” he said in Jakarta. He requested that the noble purpose of marriage registration not end up harming the public.
He acknowledged that the case of the dowry that turned out to be a bounced check has set a bad precedent.
It must be prevented from happening again. If not, there could be individuals among future brides and grooms who do similar things later.
“Or it’s possible that similar cases have already occurred but went undetected, only to be discovered later, or weren’t exposed,” he said.
He reminded all officials involved in the marriage registration process to be very careful.
He said that across Indonesia, marriage officiants, and even district and city religious affairs offices, must ensure that all processes carried out during the marriage implementation comply with regulations.
“So, perhaps this was an oversight by my colleagues. Hopefully, it will not happen again,” he concluded.
Regarding the validity of the marriage, he said the most important thing is the physical presence of the dowry. For example, in the case there, the items used were a set of prayer tools and a bounced check; it needs to be confirmed to the marriage officiant. Because the authority to determine whether a marriage is valid or not lies with the marriage officiant and the witnesses at the location.
He also emphasized the aspect of premarital guidance for prospective brides and grooms. According to him, if premarital guidance is carried out properly, cases like the one there could be prevented. Because the material in premarital guidance covers many aspects of household life. The premarital guidance process itself recently went viral because it was interspersed with a “sakinah” clap.
