Indonesian Minister Suggests Marriage Between Rich And Poor Citizens As Solution For Poverty

An Indonesian minister suggested that marriage between rich and poor people will help reduce poverty in the country.

Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy was speaking at a function in Jakarta on Wednesday when he suggested this as a method to reduce the country’s poverty rate. Effendy also urged Minister of Religious Affairs Fachrul Razi to issue an Islamic religious ruling (fatwa) that would mandate the rich in the community to marry poor and vice versa, according to the Jakarta Post.

Effendy added, “What happened if poor people are looking for other poor people? There will be more poor households. This is a problem in Indonesia.”

He added that there were roughly five million poor families in Indonesia which consist of 9.4% of the total population. He also added that counting the slightly better-off families, the numbers add to 16.8% or 15 million families of the total 57.1 million households.

Effendy also sought a pre-marital course for couples, who were economically weak but wished to get married, to be enrolled in Indonesia’s employment plan. He said the move would reduce the number of poor families in the country and hence reduce poverty.

Effendy’s statement came after the World Bank, in a recent report, said that about 115 million citizens or about 45% of Indonesia's population had not achieved economic stability or middle-class lifestyle.