UNS — Starting on 3 July 2021, the Indonesian government apply the Emergency Enforcement of Restriction for Community Activities (PPKM) in Java and Bali. This program was announced directly by the President of the Republic of Indonesia (RI), Joko Widodo (Jokowi), through Presidential Secretariat YouTube Channel on Thursday (1/7/2021).
The emergency measure was taken due to the surge in the Covid-19 cases in the last weeks, which caused scarcity of oxygen cylinders, full isolation rooms in many hospitals, and overwhelmed healthcare workers. Emergency PPKM is applied on 122 districts/cities in Java and Bali that falls under levels 3 and 4 in World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. The emergency measure is applicable until 20 July 2021. It has several regulations, such as 100% work from home (WFH) for non-essential workers, an online learning system, closing places for worship, and only take-away orders for restaurants and café.
Responding to this measure, the economist of Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) UNS, Lukman Hakim, Ph.D., stated that the decision is correct. “Because this is the only measure left to reduce the positive rate,” he said on Saturday (3/7/2021). He also thinks that the government has considered the economic sector and refuted people’s opinion that the government is more concerned with community health than the economy.
During the emergency PPKM, the government has stated that they will continue distributing social assistance for medium and low-income people, as announced by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs (Marves) RI, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan. “I don’t think that government overlooks the economy. The government is preparing logistics for the community just like the last period,” Lukman said.
Lukman suggested that the government delivers the financial aids in cash form because it will be more flexible for the community to spend and help the local economy. “(They) can use it in nearby stalls and help the local economy,” he added.
Regarding the economic growth in the 3rd quarter, he predicted that it would slow down due to Covid-19 cases. “I think this year the economic growth could be positive around 1-2%. In the announcement in August, I hope our economy can be around 1% positive. We hope that government policy, through PPKM, can be supported by the community and achieved its target to reduce Covid-19 cases,” he concluded. Humas UNS
Reporter: Yefta Christopherus AS
Editor: Dwi Hastuti