Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – On his last day as deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, newly appointed Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Anis Matta shared a light moment with his colleagues, saying they agreed on almost every issue, except polygamy.
"I do apologize to all the leaders of the House. All of us always get along each other except about polygamy," he said, jokingly.
His comments drew laughter from the audience and from fellow leaders – Marzuki Alie of the Democratic Party; Priyo Budi Santoso of the Golkar Party; Pramono Anung of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Taufik Kurniawan of the National Mandate Party (PAN).
Anis will be succeeded by Shohibul Iman, a PKS lawmaker from the House's Commission VI overseeing trade and state-owned enterprises.
Responding to his remarks on polygamy, House speaker Marzuki chuckled that the other leaders "should begin to consider practicing polygamy". His statement quickly drew a comment from Priyo, who said that "only the House speaker had an intention of doing so".
"As men, we all must admit that we desire to engage in polygamy but we do not dare to do it because we're afraid of our wives and children," said Marzuki.
Earlier before the meeting, while packing his things at his office at the House, Anis told reporters that he currently had two wives and nine children.
"This is my first wife and our seven children," he said pointing to a family picture on the wall. "I haven't got a picture of my second family here. I have two children with my second wife. A third one is on the way," he added.
Although a number of PKS politicians practice polygamy, not all party members support the practice. Most Muslims in Indonesia are monogamous, even though polygamous marriage is still tolerated.
A group of activists, however, have called on the government to revise the 1974 Marriage Law to better protect women from unfair practices in a polygamous marriage.
"The government has failed to understand that this law is very discriminatory," National Commission on Violence against Women member Andy Yentriyani said on Wednesday. "There is no such thing as a polygamous marriage that benefits women."
"If we support a second wife, for example, the first wife will lose, and vice versa. There is no benefit to be gained by women in a polygamous marriage," Andy said. "We are against polygamous marriage and urge the government to revise the law."