West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil has a proposal that he believes should help tackle both the issues of climate change and people getting divorced in the province.

The leader of Indonesia’s most populous province said that his administration has set a target for 25 million trees to be planted in 2020 as one of its eco-sustainability policies, calling on the public to donate their time and money to help achieve this goal.

But aside from counting on people’s environmental conscientiousness to plant millions of trees, Kamil says he’s also thinking of making it mandatory for certain groups of people.

“Next month, we will issue a circular. If people want to get married, they must donate 10 trees at the Religious Affairs Office (KUA). If they want to get divorced, they must donate 100 trees — we’ll make it difficult for people to divorce,” he said, as quoted by CNN Indonesia.

While such a policy might result in the planting of many trees, Kamil has been criticized online for looking at divorce from such a simplistic standpoint.

I’m one of your constituent, Kang @ridwankamil, I divorced my abusive ex husband in Bogor a long time ago, I spent millions on lawyers fees, spent countless hours of my precious time going through the process. — Andina Masna (@andienas) December 10, 2019

Kalau jadi korban KDRT lalu susah cerai karena Ridwan Kamil, lebih baik tanam saja suaminya 💙 pic.twitter.com/l3JIfGrhCG — Khadija (@unwrappedlolly) December 11, 2019

If a domestic abuse victim struggles to get divorced because of Ridwan Kamil, we can plant (bury) the husband instead.

Pak, menikah, bercerai, naik kelas itu ranah pribadi yg tidak mengandung kejahatan. Apa dasarnya pemerintah menghukum mereka?

Kalau nyumbang pohon sbg ganti hukuman pidana ringan (merusak fasum, buang sampah sembarangan dll) masuk akal. https://t.co/68nPxb2K70 — sahabat Chiko&Pepi (@dewapuci) December 10, 2019

Sir, getting married and divorcing are private matters that aren’t related to crime. What justification does the government have in punishing them?

Kamil has yet to respond to the public’s criticism of his proposal.

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