“These people married in Sabah. Of course, their marriages are valid — religiously speaking,” said Indonesian Consul-General Akhmad DH Irfan in a Daily Express report.

“However, under the law, these marriages are not recognised.”

Hence, he added, “their children were not protected”.

He said his office had taken the initiative to invite the relevant departments to validate these marriages for Indonesian couples.

“These are for couples who have applied to the Indonesian government for their marriages to be recognised.”

Irfan assured that once the “problem” marriages in Sabah were “validated”, the Indonesian government would follow up with the paperwork, that is the parents would receive marriage certificates and the children would be given birth certificates.

“The children would then be considered Indonesian citizens.”

Last year, the Indonesian consulate-general in Kota Kinabalu helped 300 Christian couples to get their marriages in Sabah validated.

“We don’t get enough applications from Christians to register their marriages,” said Irfan. “We hope more Christian couples will come forward.”

He urged them to think of their children’s future.

The consulate-general first realised the extent of the “problem marriages” when the Indonesian government started schools in the state for its nationals.

Delving into the figures on Indonesians in Sabah, the consul-general said his office had issued almost 500,000 passports to nationals in the state.

Most of them work in the estate sector, while others are in the general agricultural sector or in the construction industry.