It’s been a week of natural disasters and set backs. A major quake hit East Java, both Nusa Tenggara provinces severely hit by cyclone Seroja, Astra Zeneca’s vaccines face export restrictions, and Idulfitri mudik is banned again. It’s looking like the only breaks we’re going to get are the ones around 6pm every day during Ramadan.
Happy Fasting!
The fasting month is upon us and despite the pandemic still in full swing, we are allowing people to perform the Ramadan prayer Tarawih collectively at mosques and get together with friends and families to break the fast together.
Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan said his office will allow people to break the fast together as long as it is with a “50 per cent capacity”. Not sure if he’s talking about restaurants, offices or private homes. Which begs the question: how do you define 50% capacity anyway? Not to mention some Indonesians like to eat “Sahur (pre-fasting meal) on the Road”. 50% road capacity is still many people. Or maybe he’s talking about cutting your food portion by 50%.
What is clear, Anies said there might be adjustments to restaurants’ operating hours to accommodate people looking to enjoy sahur and iftar outside.
Apparently, Depok is far more health conscious than Jakarta, the only province with an average of more than 1,000 additional cases per day. Depok is barring communal iftar altogether although it is allowing people to perform communal tarawih prayers as long as mosques only cater to locals who live nearby (How would they know?).
We know that you all can’t wait to hang out with your friends and families, especially since last Ramadan we were essentially in a lockdown. But the wellbeing of you and your loved ones must come first.
Vice President Ma’ruf Amin has this to say: “Communal Tarawih prayer is sunnah (recommended but optional) but protecting ourselves from Covid-19 is mandatory.” We hear you Mr Veeps. We hear you.
Mudik is banned again
Just a couple of weeks ago Transport Minister Budi K. Sumadi announced that the annual Idulfitri homecoming exodus was on this year after it was canceled last year. However, this was annulled just ten days later with the government enacting a full ban on holiday travel with some exceptions. The travel ban will take place between 6-17 May, inclusive of the Idulfitri holidays.
The ban was reinstated to reduce the rate of Covid-19 transmission across the board. With the majority of infections still happening across Java and most mudik travels tend to happen within the island, it’s only sensible to cut holiday travels again this year. According to a government survey, without the ban, 81 million people would have traveled during the upcoming holiday, exacerbating the situation. However, 27 million people are still keen.
The government has instructed regional governments and law enforcement to force travelers on personal cars and motorbikes to turn back and stop them from entering their respective provinces and regions. Law enforcement officers will monitor hundreds of air and sea ports as well as toll roads. Violators could have their licenses revoked.
This still opens the door to millions of people traveling across provinces up until 5 May, well before the holiday period starts seven days later and everyone is still free to travel within eight agglomerated regions which include Jabodetabek, Greater Bandung, Greater Jogja, Greater Solo, Greater Surabaya, and a few others. Which happen to be where most of the cases are still happening.
Disasters in the Nusa Tenggaras
Heavy rainfalls, strong winds and high waves brought by tropical cyclone Seroja have caused a series of flash floods and landslides in the two Nusa Tenggaras this week. At least 175 were killed and 45 more missing in the province of East Nusa Tenggara as of Sunday. 18 of 22 regencies in the province were affected. 15,000 people are now seeking refuge.
The same cyclone was also believed to be responsible for landslides and flash floods in West Nusa Tenggara’s Dompu, Bima, and North Lombok regencies which killed two people. It has also caused a ferry to capsize in Kupang and caused two fishermen to be swept away all the way to Australian waters.
In Indonesia, tropical cyclones are pretty rare. There have only been 10 in the last 13 years. In fact, according to the Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Seroja was the first tropical cyclone to make landfall and have a significant impact on Indonesian land for they usually happen at sea.
The BMKG said the disaster provides another evidence that our climate is changing, adding that cyclones appear to be happening more and more frequently.
East Nusa Tenggara is infamous for having extreme droughts and barren landscapes and not accustomed to heavy rains which can lead to devastating flash floods.
But the province wasn’t exactly caught off guard because the BMKG has been monitoring the cyclone, two days before Seroja wreaked havoc on the province on Easter Day.
Failure to make preparations and the fact that disaster response has been slow are some of the reasons why the governor removed the chief of the province’s Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), Thomas Bangke (yes, that’s his name) from office. Acting as interim chief of the BPBD is the province’s chief of transportation agency Isyak Nuka.
The cyclone is still strong and has been slowly moving south to Australia. Authorities in Western Australia have raised their alert level and urged people to stay indoors. The cyclone is expected to make landfall in the continent tonight (Apr 11).
Quake Rattles Java
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit the southern coast of East Java on Saturday. The quake, which was earlier recorded as a 6.7 magnitude but was revised down to 6.1, was felt all the way in Yogyakarta and Bali, hundreds of kilometers from the epicentre. Authorities also revised the depth of the quake from 25km to 80km from the earth’s surface.
As of Sunday, there were 8 confirmed fatalities from the regencies of Lumajang and Malang. More than 1,000 houses and 150 public facilities were damaged from 16 regencies and cities in East Java.
A 7 meter 15-year old King Kong statue at Batu Secret Zoo at Jatim Park 2 was severely damaged as a result. It unfortunately lost its head and other parts as well. We’re not sure if the park administrators are trying to pretend that it wasn’t actually Godzilla who did it.
TMII Take Over
After nearly 44 years, the government is finally taking over management of Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, the brainchild of the late former first lady Tien Suharto who wanted Indonesia to have its own Disneyland.
The 150ha land on which the park sits on is a state asset and according to this Tirto article
Suharto’s men at the time reportedly instructed all governors to chip in to finance the building of the park. Despite sitting on state land and financed by the state, Suharto decreed in 1977 that the park be managed by the Harapan Kita foundation, chaired at the time by none other than his wife Ibu Tien.
This week Jokowi signed a decree which essentially nullified Suharto’s 1977 decree, allowing the state to take over all TMII assets and management. The palace said the takeover came after various recommendations from academics as well as the state audit agency. The palace argued that TMII is operating at a loss and owes the government billions in unpaid taxes.
Harapan Kita foundation denied these allegations but nevertheless agreed to the government takeover. The government is giving the current management a three month transition period and plans to have the park run by a state owned enterprise. It doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that the foundation and Soeharto’s children are currently facing a multimillion dollar lawsuit from a Singapore company, does it?
Quick Reads
Visas for foreigners are back on
Indonesia has reopened regular visa requests for foreigners effective 5th of April and canceled the token system that was in place for applications. Visa-free travel and visa on arrival programs are still on hold though, so residents of other ASEAN nations will still need to apply for a visa to visit Indonesia. All the quarantine procedures still apply, by the way.
Aaaaah, so this is why visitor visa applications are back. At the beginning of the pandemic last year the President touted a tourism campaign to bring Chinese visitors back to Bali, thinking foolishly that Bali will not be affected by the virus. Sure there are vaccines now but even with international travel still under heavy restrictions , it seems that optimism prevails over caution.
Bali’s accelerated plans hit a speed bump
Speaking of Bali, the island is looking to reopen to international tourists by accelerating vaccinations ahead of the national rate. 400,000 people in Bali have received their first shots, amounting to 4% of the total vaccinated population nationally, but still a long way to go for the island. Unfortunately the global vaccine shortage is forcing the island to push its plans to vaccinate 3 million of its residents back by two months.
Free to criticise the government soon?
The controversial ITE law may not see another revision this year but there is a change to how libel against the President and the VP can be processed according to the proposed Criminal Code legislation. While previously anybody can file a police report , the Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights said that the legislation will allow only the President and VP to file the report if they take offense. He said the proposed legislation is worded to ensure that legitimate criticisms from the public about the government will not be prosecuted. Hmmm…
AstraZeneca keeps facing one problem after next and the latest set back is forcing the Indonesian government to turn to Sinovac for more doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. With more evidence of people experiencing serious side effects to the AZ vaccine and delivery issues happening worldwide, the government has asked Sinovac to increase their allocation to fulfill Indonesia’s vaccination quota for April.
An internal Police telegram (yes, telegram) regarding restrictions on media coverage reached the media and caused a national commotion for about six hours on Tuesday because it said that the media may not broadcast or depict police arrogance or excessive force. The instruction was apparently meant for internal police media and publications but the way it was worded made it sound as if they were trying to limit press coverage. The National Chief of Police rescinded the instructions, which were issued by the public relations division, before the day ended.
The President signed a decree in support of musicians by requiring public venues such as cafes, restaurants, malls, and supermarkets, to pay royalty for every piece of music they play whether live, recorded, or streamed, to a National Collective Management Agency which will distribute the proceeds to the various rights holders. While the 2014 Intellectual Property law had required this, efforts by a number of royalty collection agencies faced various challenges including conflicting claims and difficulties in determining the fees owed. This decree is expected to kickstart a new effort starting with a national database of songs.