REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) has expressed its appreciation of the decision made by a number of city mayors to reject Valentine's Day celebrations.

"I thank the mayors of Surabaya, Padang, Makassar, and Mataram, as well as district heads, who rejected the February 14 Valentine's Day celebrations," Head of Education of the MUI Anwar Abbas said here on Saturday.

He added that their decision was worth appreciating because it carried high educational value.

"The appeals and bans have made us, especially members from the younger generation, become aware and more critical. We no longer believe that everything from the West is always good and do not get carried away with them," he remarked.

"Valentine's Day celebrations do not always meet our religious and traditional values, which do not recognize free love," Abbas pointed out.

He added that as a country based on "Pancasila," there are limits and rules that should be respected with regard to relations between young men and women.

"We, as a nation, have the Pancasila," he emphasized, adding that the appeals and bans issued by regional heads had reminded them of that.

"We hope all citizens and elements of the community support the regional heads' move, participate in monitoring their implementation, and contribute positively to their enforcement," Abbas stated.

MUI believes that good cooperation between the government and the public would make Indonesia more respected and advanced, with its people exhibiting great morality.

Moreover, the commemoration of Valentine's Day has often been associated with free love and efforts to increase the sale of contraceptives in the country.

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