F

or the nation’s civil servants, ending a marriage is not simply a private matter — in order to be able to do so, they are required to obtain permission from their superiors.

However, with divorce applications mounting, the administration of Banyumas regency in Central Java has begun to make it easier for civil servants to have their applications approved.

“We have allowed them to file for divorce in court, because we could no longer prevent them from doing so,” Banyumas Personnel Agency (BKD Banyumas) head Ahmad Supartono said on Monday.

Over the last five years, 268 civil servants in the regency have applied for divorce permits; requests are only met by the BKD if attempts at reconciliation fail.

According to Government Regulation No. 45/1990, every civil servant requires permission from his or her office to obtain a divorce, or for male civil servants to marry a second or third wife; they may be dismissed if they attempt to do so with first gaining permission.

The regulation was made on the grounds that as government employees, civil servants should uphold high moral standards and act as role models for the community.

Ahmad said civil servants seeking divorce must follow special procedures from the personnel agency.

He added that after asking for permission, the civil servant is called for mediation up to three times, and if not successful then he or she must obtain permission from the regent before the divorce suit goes to court.

Furthermore, he said, based on existing data at his office, over the last five years, an average of 50 civil servants have been granted permission to file for divorce annually.

In 2011, 74 divorces were granted permission, 34 in 2012, 45 in 2013, 52 in 2014 and 45 in 2015.

“To file for permission for divorce, the concerned civil servant requests a letter from his or her agency head, then submits it to us at the BKD. Later, we speak with those who still want a divorce and submit the file to the regent. In the next process, they will be called three times, and if they still want a divorce, we will continue with the process,” said Ahmad.

The process is quite complicated because the government, in this case the Banyumas regency administration, does not want civil servants to divorce, he went on.

“If possible, we don’t want divorces. If a divorced husband is a civil servant, a third of his salary should be given to his wife and children until their adulthood, or until his wife and children get married. Female civil servants have no such obligation,” Ahmad explained.

In addition, divorce is noted on a civil servant’s record, and could impact his or her career.

“If for instance a divorce case is due to adultery, it will leave a bad mark on the record,” said Ahmad, adding that most civil servants who applied for divorce did so out of a lack of marital harmony.