MEDAN | INDATANEWS.COM - Medan Mayor, Rico Waas, has reaffirmed the Medan City Government's commitment to protecting the rights of children and women following divorces involving State Civil Apparatus (Aparatur Sipil Negara/ASN) employees. The commitment was discussed during a meeting between Rico Waas and Chairwoman of the Medan Religious Court, Dian Ingrasanti Lubis, on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, at the Medan mayor's official residence.
The meeting marked an initial step in strengthening cooperation between the Medan City Government and the
Medan Religious Court through the continued implementation of an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning the protection of children's and women's rights after ASN divorces within the Medan City Government.
In addition to introducing herself as the newly appointed Chairwoman of the Medan Religious Court, Dian Ingrasanti Lubis and Rico Waas discussed various measures to ensure that the MoU implementation could run more effectively in the future. One of the main focuses was the use of digital technology to accelerate the delivery of court decisions to the Medan City Regional Personnel Agency (BKD).
Through the digital system, information regarding divorce rulings can be transmitted directly. This allows the government to better monitor the fulfillment of obligations by divorced ASN employees, particularly in ensuring child support rights and the rights of former wives in accordance with applicable regulations.
Medan Religious Court Develops Digital Application
Chairwoman of the
Medan Religious Court Dian Ingrasanti Lubis explained that the meeting was aimed at strengthening the implementation of the MoU previously agreed upon with the Medan City Government. Dian, who has only served in her position for around two months after previously working in Banda Aceh, said that several challenges remain in implementing the cooperation.
According to Dian, one of the current challenges is that not all divorce rulings or court decisions have been fully submitted to the BKD. As a result, monitoring the obligations of ASN employees after divorce has not yet been carried out optimally, particularly regarding child support payments and the rights of former wives.
"In the future, we will develop an application that can simplify the delivery of court decisions. Currently, we do not have a budget to send the decisions directly to the BKD. Through this application, divorced ASN employees will also be able to understand their obligations, especially regarding child support payments," Dian said.
She explained that the application would serve as a follow-up measure to the signed MoU. Dian expressed hope that the Medan mayor would officially launch the application once the development process was completed, allowing the affected parties to immediately benefit from the system.
Besides the digitalization of court decision delivery, Dian also discussed changes in the procedure for serving court summonses. Currently, summons delivery is no longer carried out by court bailiffs but through the state postal service, PT Pos.
If the summoned individual cannot be found at home, PT Pos will leave the summons at the local Kelurahan (urban village administration) office in accordance with applicable regulations. However, challenges remain in practice, as some Kelurahan officials do not yet fully understand the new procedure.
"Therefore, through this meeting, we hope the Mayor can support us by explaining the new system to officials at the administrative level," Dian said.
Medan Government Ensures Implementation of Protection MoU
Responding to the matter, Medan Mayor Rico Tri Putra Bayu Waas stated that the Medan City Government fully supports strengthening the implementation of the MoU with the
Medan Religious Court. He said the cooperation agreement had already been incorporated into a Mayor Regulation (Peraturan Wali Kota/Perwal), demonstrating the government's serious commitment to protecting the rights of women and children after ASN divorces.
"This MoU has already become part of the Medan City Government's regulations. We hope it will truly provide benefits for ASN employees within the Medan City Government," Rico said, accompanied by Deputy Administrative Assistant for Social Affairs Muhammad Sofyan, Head of the Cooperation Division Seri Inderahayu, and Head of the Welfare Division Agus Maryono.
Rico assessed that the use of a digital application for transmitting court decisions would improve coordination between the
Medan Religious Court and the Medan BKD. Through this system, the government would be able to monitor the obligations of divorced ASN employees more efficiently.
Furthermore, the Medan City Government will communicate the changes in court summons procedures to authorities at the district and urban village levels. The government will issue a circular letter to ensure that all relevant officials understand the new procedures implemented by the Medan Religious Court.
Addressing Unregistered Marriage Issues
During the meeting, Rico Waas also raised concerns regarding marriages that have not been officially registered, commonly referred to as informal marriages. According to him, such situations can create various legal and administrative issues, particularly for children born from these marriages.
"Of course, we do not want the divorce rate to increase. However, we must also pay attention to the issue of unregistered marriages because they affect children's rights, including the processing of population administration documents,"
Rico Waas said.
As a follow-up measure, Rico proposed a joint meeting involving district heads, village and urban village officials, as well as the Medan Religious Court. The aim is to provide the administrative apparatus with a better understanding of family law issues, including the implementation of the Isbat Terpadu program.
Through this program, residents are expected to gain legal certainty regarding their marital status, ensuring that children's administrative rights can be better protected.
The cooperation between the Medan City Government and the Medan Religious Court is expected to strengthen the protection of ASN families while providing easier, faster, and more transparent legal services for the community. (IDNC)
REPORTER:
Teguh Panjaitan | EDITOR:
Fik Sagala