UI students help couples tie the knot

JAKARTA: The University of Indonesia's student council held a mass wedding ceremony Sunday for 29 couples.

The event brought to a close a month of fund-raising activities under the theme ""Contributed to You"".

The ceremony was held in the Setyaningrum student hall at the university's campus in Depok.

Two 61 year olds, the oldest couple in the ceremony, had been married for years but never registered their marriage because they were short of money, said the chairman of the organizing committee, Hidayatullah.

He said while the official fee for Muslim couples to register their marriage with the religious affairs office was Rp 35,000, the process was known to cost up to Rp 500,000.

The students covered the cost of the couples' transportation and even arranged dowries.

Idris Sudardi, 27, a mechanic who makes money as a street singer in the afternoons, said he had been waiting to marry his girlfriend for years.

""We're finally married, thanks to the students. I've been saving up for three years, but it was never enough,"" he said. -- JP