JAKARTA: Presidential Chief of Staff, Moeldoko, asks the Indonesian people to not be pessimistic and instead trust the government’s ability in dealing with the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. He encourages the public to find solutions in this trying time together.
“Pessimism will not solve any problem, Pessimism will make our creative brain stuck, [and] drain our energy,” he said in a written statement on Saturday, July 10.
Moeldoko lets anyone to criticize and give inputs for the government in dealing with the covid-19 pandemic.
“The government is not an anti-critic, but for now, you may criticize and provide the solution as well. Help us think and save the people. Let’s work together to reach mass recovery,” he remarked.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, or Jokowi, announced Thursday, July 1, the enforcement of the emergency state of community activity restrictions (emergency PPKM) across 122 cities/regencies in Java and Bali from July 3-20, in order to suppress the number of Covid-19 transmission.
Presidential Chief of Staff admitted that it is indeed challenging. The government recorded that the public mobility during the emergency PPKM only reached minus 30 percent. He said that the curb is deemed successful if it could suppress the mobility until minus 50 percent. “Therefore, the government will tighten the restrictions until July 20,” he said.
This policy, Moeldoko said, did affect the people’s economy. But, it must be taken for the sake of people’s health.
