Gert van der Hoek
In Memoriam - Editor, Senior Moderator
Thu, April 9, 2020
Almost no one thinks Indonesia is handling the COVID-19 pandemic well.
Until early March, the government claimed it had no cases of infection, something the eccentric health minister, Terawan Agus Putranto, attributed to prayer. The home affairs minister urged the public to eat more bean sprouts and broccoli, while President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) sang the praises of jamu, traditional herbal remedies.
The government had been in denial. Terawan dismissed as “insulting” a report by Harvard University researchers saying Indonesia must have unreported cases. As recently as last Friday, another minister was still arguing the virus cannot survive in tropical climates.
Jokowi was apparently more concerned about the threat the virus posed to trade, investment and tourism. In February, when many countries were imposing tough travel restrictions, he planned to offer discounts of up to 30% to attract tourists. His government even allocated almost A$8 million to pay social media influencers for tourism promotions.
On March 2, Indonesia finally acknowledged COVID-19 had reached the archipelago. Jokowi admitted, as many suspected, his government had withheld information from the public “to avoid panic”.
And then it finally began to act. The government banned mass gatherings, imposed so-called “large-scale social restrictions” and barred foreigners from entering the country. It announced it will release 30,000 prisoners from the country’s notoriously overcrowded and unhealthy prisons and will spend an additional A$40 billion on medical needs, social support and relief for small and medium businesses
Last week, Jokowi even toyed with the idea of declaring a civil emergency (similar to martial law) before quickly backtracking.
Just how bad is the situation?
READ MORE
Almost no one thinks Indonesia is handling the COVID-19 pandemic well.
Until early March, the government claimed it had no cases of infection, something the eccentric health minister, Terawan Agus Putranto, attributed to prayer. The home affairs minister urged the public to eat more bean sprouts and broccoli, while President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) sang the praises of jamu, traditional herbal remedies.
The government had been in denial. Terawan dismissed as “insulting” a report by Harvard University researchers saying Indonesia must have unreported cases. As recently as last Friday, another minister was still arguing the virus cannot survive in tropical climates.
Jokowi was apparently more concerned about the threat the virus posed to trade, investment and tourism. In February, when many countries were imposing tough travel restrictions, he planned to offer discounts of up to 30% to attract tourists. His government even allocated almost A$8 million to pay social media influencers for tourism promotions.
On March 2, Indonesia finally acknowledged COVID-19 had reached the archipelago. Jokowi admitted, as many suspected, his government had withheld information from the public “to avoid panic”.
And then it finally began to act. The government banned mass gatherings, imposed so-called “large-scale social restrictions” and barred foreigners from entering the country. It announced it will release 30,000 prisoners from the country’s notoriously overcrowded and unhealthy prisons and will spend an additional A$40 billion on medical needs, social support and relief for small and medium businesses
Last week, Jokowi even toyed with the idea of declaring a civil emergency (similar to martial law) before quickly backtracking.
Just how bad is the situation?
READ MORE