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democratically elected regent is impeached following his illegal marriage to a minor. He apologizes, steps down after a fight and declares he might continue his public service as regent again, if the people asked him to.

To many, this may seem an affront to common sense, and particularly an insult to women in his constituency in Garut, West Java. But on a national scale we have a tiny step of progress from the case of Aceng Fikri, who was officially dismissed on Monday.

Aspiring public officials at least should get the message, that those running for office and winning elections have a number of responsibilities, the least of them being their adherence to national laws and the oath of office to abide by those laws.

Aceng’s lawyers had previously insisted that his marriage to a teenager was a private affair, and that an unregistered marriage is allowed in Islam. The problem is that the bridegroom in question was a regent bound to the oath to follow national laws including the marriage law. Under the 1974 law, taking another wife must be with the permission of the first wife, and all marriages must be registered.

The law itself has little power, as we have witnessed with the anticorruption law enforced against dozens of public officials embroiled in graft scandals. Public pressure, through protests amplified by social media, contributed heavily to Aceng’s downfall.

However his statements, mainly that he would run again if asked to, and that he apologized if indeed his actions hurt his family and supporters, indicate a lack of remorse. He has even pledged to challenge his dismissal in court. This indicates how unregistered marriages where men take other wives has become common practice; thus Aceng implied he expected to be forgiven, or at least understood.

Aceng’s defenders may indeed have argued that he was an easy target, engaging in nothing extraordinary. He seemed oblivious to the fact that while many get off easy in corruption cases, the case of an illegal marriage to a minor was too embarrassing to his superiors, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Thus the small progress made in the Garut impeachment case is the message that public officials need to scrutinize it in order to improve their behavior, at least in reference to the law.

The next step would be twofold: To instill awareness of women’s rights in marriages, as unregistered marriages raise more vulnerability on the part of women. After Aceng’s case a number of other wives of public officials spoke up against mistreatment and cheating by their husbands — egged on by demonstrations in various cities.

The other step would be to promote more awareness of what taking a public oath entails. Aceng is perhaps the first public official to fall in disgrace for infringing his office oath. His impeachment will and should therefore teach public officials a dear lesson about the sanctity of the office oath.

Ongoing investigations into corruption reveal time and again that elected officials, legislators and councilors steal as much public money as they can, with various excuses such as being ordered by the political party boss to raise funds, despite their pledge in the name of God not to do so.

But because justice can still be bought, the other message from the Garut case is the need for intense and widespread public pressure against elected officials abusing the trust of their people.