Indonesians must now have at least 2 names (no, unusual ones aren't allowed)
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It's no secret that Indonesia is home to some of the most uniquely-named people in the world. Meeting someone with just one name – as in, just a first name with no surname – is not as farfetched a scenario as it seems. This writer knows a few.
And then, there are also people whose names are (for better or worse) just plain weird, and unusually long.
According to Permendagri 73/2022, published on May 7, 2022, Indonesians must now comply with a new set of rules meant to regulate their names on official documents. This also helps prevent confusing encounters when traveling abroad.
Indonesians must have at least two non-abbreviated names, with a maximum allowance of 60 characters (including spaces). Exceed that character limit and your newborn might end up legally nameless, like this baby was when his father decided to name him Rangga Madhipa Sutra Jiwa Cordosega Akre Askhala Mughal Ilkhanat Akbar Sahara Pi-Thariq Ziyad Syaifudin Quthuz Khoshala Sura Talenta.
Do the math, and that's 132 characters long.
It's a stark change in direction for (or at least, enforcement of) official names. For Indonesians who have already lived their lives with singular or unusual names, there's no requirement for them to change their names to abide by the new regulations.
But these new rules most certainly apply to newborns, who (hopefully) won't have to deal with having ridiculous-sounding names that could possibly make their lives more difficult, or worse, get them bullied or ridiculed by others.
Other items prohibited in legal names include numbers, punctuation, as well as educational and religious degrees. So, even if you are a doctor in real life, you can't have 'Doctor' or 'Dr.' in your official name.
sea.mashable.com
It's no secret that Indonesia is home to some of the most uniquely-named people in the world. Meeting someone with just one name – as in, just a first name with no surname – is not as farfetched a scenario as it seems. This writer knows a few.
And then, there are also people whose names are (for better or worse) just plain weird, and unusually long.
60 characters max, don't make it weird.
IMAGE: UIN-SUKA
Aiming to put a stop to that (and the legal confusion it could ensue), the Indonesian government has released a new set of regulations – called Permendagri – which now legally require Indonesians to have at least two words in their names. But there's more to this new regulation than that.According to Permendagri 73/2022, published on May 7, 2022, Indonesians must now comply with a new set of rules meant to regulate their names on official documents. This also helps prevent confusing encounters when traveling abroad.
Indonesians must have at least two non-abbreviated names, with a maximum allowance of 60 characters (including spaces). Exceed that character limit and your newborn might end up legally nameless, like this baby was when his father decided to name him Rangga Madhipa Sutra Jiwa Cordosega Akre Askhala Mughal Ilkhanat Akbar Sahara Pi-Thariq Ziyad Syaifudin Quthuz Khoshala Sura Talenta.
Do the math, and that's 132 characters long.
It's a stark change in direction for (or at least, enforcement of) official names. For Indonesians who have already lived their lives with singular or unusual names, there's no requirement for them to change their names to abide by the new regulations.
But these new rules most certainly apply to newborns, who (hopefully) won't have to deal with having ridiculous-sounding names that could possibly make their lives more difficult, or worse, get them bullied or ridiculed by others.
IMAGE: BBC
If the new regulation hadn't come into place, we might still be getting Indonesian newborns named Batman Bin Suparman (though, I have to admit this one is pretty cool), or something of the same vein.Other items prohibited in legal names include numbers, punctuation, as well as educational and religious degrees. So, even if you are a doctor in real life, you can't have 'Doctor' or 'Dr.' in your official name.
