Several weeks ago, in an off-the-cuff remark widely publicized in the international media, Vice President Jusuf Kalla joked that should not be disturbed if many Middle East tourists go into “instant marriages” in , if that shoud improve genes.  Women activist groups, especially, were appalled, and the next day, VP Jusuf Kalla publicly apologized if his joke had offended some people. 

In a more serious follow-up, however, on 31 July, the West Java Police reported that during one week raids along Jakarta ’s popular hill resort of Cisarua in the Puncak area, Police had arrested seven Saudi Arabian nationals for having committed “instant marriages”. In one case the Police had even stopped a couple in “mid-ceremony”. Four were later deported and returned to their home country for having misused their tourist visas, thus having violated ’s Immigration Law no. 9 of 1992 as well as ’s Marriage Law, while the three others were released as they were caught on the verge of going into the “marriage rites”, but had not yet committed the offense. 

Women’s groups consider these “instant marriages” disguised prostitution.