As we enter the final days of Ramadan in 2021 we would like to extend our warmest Happy Lebaran to all of our readers. It’s the second Ramadan and Lebaran in this pandemic yet people still think that it’s worth risking their lives and that of their relatives. Daily case numbers are still growing, people! But the rules are so confusing even government officials can’t figure it out. Also, there’s so many things happening this week we’d just advise you to read through the rest of this Nuiceletter. It’s a doozy.
Mudik Ban Flip Flop
Indonesia began a nationwide ban on mudik, the annual exodus which marks the end of Ramadan, this week. The step was taken to prevent millions of people from travelling to celebrate Idul Fitri with their families in their hometowns, curbing the spread of Covid-19.
However, millions had already left before the ban was in place between 6 and 17 May with train stations and airports packed with travellers and toll roads gridlocked by vehicles leaving Jakarta.
Even after the ban was in place, thousands still tried to get out of the city. While some had legitimate excuses, like they had to get to work in factories just outside of the city limits, most did not.
There were so many people trying to flout the mudik ban, police manning a checkpoint on the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road, the main highway connecting Jakarta and the rest of Java, gave up on checking drivers for their travel documents because it created an 8km long congestion.
At the heart of the problem, experts said, was because the government is making too many exceptions to the rule, on top of the fact that the mudik ban was too brief when compared to last year’s five-week long ban.
Like we said, you can still travel if you have legitimate excuses like for work, to care for sick relatives, attend funerals and so on. The city of Solo even believed that you can still travel for leisure, as long as it is not for mudik. A day later, Solo Mayor, Gibran Rakabuming Raka revised the policy.
With so many people still travelling to their hometown, the central government decided to ban all forms of mudik, even if mudik means going to your hometown which is only an hour drive away from the city. Previously, you could travel within your “urban agglomeration” area regardless of your intention. You can still travel for work and for leisure. Just not mudik.
This creates all sorts of technical problems. For one, how the hell should officials in the field tell the difference whether someone is mudiking or not? What about people living in border areas who might have to cross provincial boundaries to shop or to work?
Different regional governments seem to have different opinions about this. Jakarta decided that people don’t need to obtain a permit to travel to the suburbs, vice versa. The city of Bekasi and the regency of Bogor, two of Jakarta’s suburbs, think people do. Unless of course, they change the rules once more. While the Mayor of Tangerang has no clue what’s going on but told people they need travel papers anyway.
Follow up to KPK Fiasco
As we have reported in our special report, 75 investigators and employees of the once respected and beloved Corruption Eradication Commission have failed the controversial “Tes Wawasan Kebangsaan” (Nationalism Comprehension Test) and thus cannot be granted civil servant’s status.
ICYMI, the test mostly contains dubious and highly irrelevant “agree/disagree” questions such as “all Chinese are the same”, “religion is manmade”, “blasphemers must be sentenced to death” and “homosexuals must be criminalized.” This led some to believe that the test was designed to oust some of the KPK’s best people.
A lot has happened since we published our special report. There were reports that the 75 had been suspended from active duty as a result of failing the test, which the KPK outright denied.
We now know that the 75 include eight high ranking KPK officials and seven senior investigators currently leading the investigations of high profile cases as well as nearly all officials of the KPK workers’ union.
The National Civil Service Agency (BKN), which organized the test, admitted that the test was specifically designed for the KPK employees and not the normal test used for regular, would-be civil servants.
On Friday, several activists staged a demonstration, protesting the possible sacking of the 75. The activists demanded that KPK leaders to take the tes, particularly its controversial chairman Firli Bahuri who has defended the test.
Poison Sate Lady Faces Death Penalty
After four days of investigation, police in Yogyakarta arrested Nani Apriliani on Apr 30, for accidentally killing the ten-year-old daughter of a motorcycle taxi (ojek) driver after the girl ate a satay laced with potassium cyanide on Apr 21.
Nani was reportedly upset when a police officer named Tomi, whom Nani fancied, went on to marry another woman. Nani allegedly booked the ojek driver Bandiman to deliver the tainted satay to Tomi who later refused the food. Bandiman took the satay with him and gave it to his daughter, killing her almost instantly.
Alarmingly, Nani told police that she bought the cyanide at a marketplace back in March which meant that she had been planning her act for quite some time. She also claimed that another guy told her to exact revenge and that she initially thought the cyanide would only make Tomi sick instead of killing anyone.
Nani could face the death penalty if convicted.
Strangely police tried to hide the targeted officer’s identity, vaguely acknowledging at first that he was indeed a police officer. What’s even stranger is that Tomi, according to one activist, has not been questioned in relation to the case.
Schools can Enforce Religious Dress Codes Once More
The Supreme Court this week has repealed a joint ministerial decree which bans regional governments from requiring school girls to wear the Islamic headscarf, hijab. The decree was enacted on Feb 3, after a mother complained that her daughter, who is not a Muslim, was required by her school to wear the hijab.
The Supreme Court ruled that the decree violated the law on regional governments and the law on national education. A ministerial decree, the court said, has no place to ban or compel regional governments to do something. Weirdly enough, the court even argued that the decree violated the law on child protection.
Child protection and religious tolerance advocates lamented the court’s decision saying that it is unconstitutional that a regional government can force someone to wear (or not to wear) certain religious outfits.
Activists called on the government to revive the provision in the form of something more powerful than a ministerial decree, one that all regional governments must comply, like a presidential regulation or a government regulation.
Hundreds of Wisma Atlet Workers Unpaid
The Health Workers Network of Indonesia this week revealed that as of Wednesday, 5 May, there had been hundreds of health workers at Wisma Atlet who haven’t been paid their incentives since December 2020 and some even since November. These are doctors, nurses, and other health workers who have had to set aside their regular jobs and their daily lives to take care of Covid-19 patients.
In many cases these workers have faced persecutions and having been alienated by their neighbors out of fear that they may bring the virus home and yet they’ve had to spend the last several months working essentially as unpaid volunteers.
According to the Health Ministry, payments for December 2020 onwards must be greenlit by the National Government Internal Auditor (BPKP) and that’s what’s causing the delay. They claimed that payments for December have been approved and would have been paid by Friday, 7 May. That still leaves January to April. In case you’re wondering, the amount that BPKP has approved thus far for 2021 is Rp812 billion or US$57.5 million.
Quick Reads
Vaccines for everyone in Jakarta
Starting this week everyone in Jakarta who are 18 years or older are eligible to receive Covid-19 vaccine with the arrival of more AstraZeneca vaccines. The distribution will be informed to residents through neighborhood chiefs although people can inquire directly through their neighborhood health centers (Puskesmas).
Denpasar wants everyone vaccinated
Denpasar’s Mayor announced that vaccinations are available to the general public this week. The city aims to get 85% of its population vaccinated by the end of the month after starting May with 55%.
Indonesia keeps adding more oddball Dutas
Two anti maskers in Bekasi and Surabaya who harassed people who wear masks have been made health protocol ambassadors or Dutas this week after they were reported to the police. These clowns only add to Indonesia’s bizarre habits of appointing rule breakers as Dutas in lieu of formal punishments.
Jakarta’s bike lanes might be removed
Jakarta’s newly minted permanent bike lanes are being criticised by the police as well as the city’s parliament as being too dangerous for cars and they’re looking to dismantle them. The Bike to Work community rightly rejects that conclusion. If drivers can’t see the dividers maybe they should drive more carefully and the city should install better signs. Ijets.
The Imperial Army of the Sunda Archipelago
A routine traffic stop unveiled yet another secret Sunda empire by the name of Empire of Sunda Archipelago. This pretend sovereign nation which happens to be based out of the leader’s mother in law’s house in Depok (yes, for real) had been issuing driver’s license, ID cards, and license plates but also had been losing followers to the larger but now defunct Sunda Empire.