The provincial administration has issued a circular informing students that they must not celebrate the February 14 lovers' holiday, as it goes against "religious, social and cultural norms," the Jakarta Post reports. The ban, signed by West Java Education Agency head Ahmad Hadadi and sent to 27 education agencies in the province, goes as far as forbidding young people to celebrate the holiday "at school or outside school."
Apparently buying sweets in heart-shaped boxes is antithetical to the government's efforts to build good moral character in Java's students.
Valentine's Day has taken hold among the country's students and its urban middle class over the past decade, local media report, though most Indonesians don't give a hoot about the Western holiday.
And for those that do, such a ban is useless, local education activist Eko Purwono said. There are no legal grounds for criminalizing celebrating Valentine's Day, he pointed out to the Jakarta Post.
"If [students] buy cannabis or crystal meth, police would take action against them," he said, in contrast. Will the education administration actually block students from buying chocolate on February 14, he wondered.
The West Javan city of Sukabumi has instructed teachers from primary school to senior high school to monitor their students for signs of hearts and flowers, Indonesia's Tempo news agency reports. Parents have also been urged to watch their children for any signs they plan on taking part in the holiday.
Sukabumi Regional Secretary Hanafie Zein said the local government is worried that children and teenagers will use the holiday as an excuse to have sex and take drugs. (One wonders when teenagers began needing an excuse to do such things.)
"We have to prevent our children from doing negative things," he said.
The city government has instructed the Public Order Agency to monitor nightclubs, hotels and other rented accommodations and prevent them from being "misused" — whatever that means — over the holiday.
Debates over Valentine's Day have become an annual event in the world's largest Muslim country.
