Hi folks, it’s been quite an eventful week with an international drama involving a controversial yet popular cleric being denied entry to Singapore, making way for more of the well known online behavior of the Indonesian mob. For those sick of having to wear a mask all the time, time for reprieve has finally come with the government removing the mask mandate for outdoor activities and canceling Covid-19 test requirements for fully vaccinated domestic and international travelers.
Also, the palm oil saga seems to be coming to a close with the President promising a return to normal pricing very soon, after five months of skyrocketing prices. There’s also exciting stuff in the quick reads section. Read on!
No Mask, No Test. Mostly.
Mask-wearing is now optional outdoors while fully vaccinated international travelers are no longer required to present Covid-19 test results before departure and upon arrival to Indonesia.
President Jokowi argued that Covid-19 cases are pretty much under control when he made the announcement on Tuesday. The two policies came into effect the following day.
Mask remains compulsory indoors and on public transport and if you’re showing symptoms of cold, flu, or other similar illnesses.
An on arrival PCR test is still required for unvaccinated and partially vaccinated international travelers or those showing symptoms regardless of their vaccination status. A five-day quarantine is also required for those who have not been jabbed twice.
Apparently the test requirements are such a hassle for some travelers, everyone believes that this will bring in them tourism dollars.
Industry players also believe that this will benefit Indonesians abroad, those on holiday or perform the umroh looking to return home.
They argued that a PCR test abroad can be costly and not so readily available in places where such tests are no longer a travel requirement. And the hajj season is coming soon. Talk about timing huh!?
Health experts however feel that the relaxations are too fast and could trigger a third wave, especially given the fact that there are more than 70 million Indonesians out of a population of 270 million who are yet to receive their first dose, and of the nearly 200 million who have, only 160 million have had their second.
But this fact doesn’t seem to stop the government from talking about an endemic future.
Coordinating minister Muhadjir Effendi said Covid-19 will one day be like the common cold and when the government declares Covid-19 as an endemic, the government will stop footing Covid-19 patient’s medical bill.
Muhadjir however assures people that Covid-19 patients will still be covered by state insurer, BPJS.
Palm Oil Saga Coming to an End?
President Jokowi decided to end the palm oil export ban, less than one month after it was introduced, claiming that the ban had successfully lowered the price of cooking oil and ensured its availability. The export ban ends today.
Earlier, Jokowi promised that the ban will only end once the price of generic cooking oil sold at traditional markets is back to Rp14,000 per liter. Prices haven’t gone that low, particularly in remote corners of Indonesia. Even Jokowi himself said that the average prices for bulk cooking oil still stood at Rp17,200 at the time of the announcement.
As for the branded cooking oil sold at supermarkets, prices have been hovering above Rp20,000 per litre.
Jokowi said he will put pressure on cooking oil producers to lower their prices and promised his efforts will start showing results in one or two weeks. The president also brought up the fact that cooking oil is way pricier in other countries like the US of A, Singapore, and Germany.
If only people’s wages were as high as in those countries too.
Experts have been calling the ban a bit of an “overkill” and considering that the majority of our production is bound for the overseas market, the ban would only hurt small oil palm plantation owners who had been struggling to move their freshly picked fruits.
In his remarks, the President thanked the millions of people in the palm oil industry for their understanding.
Experts also argued the government should have gone after the bad guys, which apparently include a senior government official and a government advisor, while an all out export ban would hurt everyone, including those who have been following the law.
Now that the ban is over, Minister Airlangga Hartarto said the government will again impose the Domestic Market Obligation and the Domestic Price Obligation. The total amount of palm oil the producers have to set aside for the domestic market is set at 10 million. The price will be set later.
Airlangga also said that people might have to present ID cards when buying the bulk cooking oil known as “curah”. Hold up… we thought the export ban has successfully ensured availability…
Indonesian Cleric So Mad After Being Denied Entry Into Singapore
The aftermath of Singapore’s refusal to admit into the country controversial Muslim cleric Abdul Somad Batubara a.k.a UAS, continues. After the highly publicized protest from the preacher himself while he was in detention, there’s been outrage from his followers and even some in the parliament.
UAS was denied entry and sent back to Indonesia via ferry to Batam hours after their arrival in Singapore from the island. The cleric said he and his family were planning a vacation in the country but upon reaching immigration, he was pulled aside and placed in a separate room by himself. Several hours later he was escorted by immigration officials to board a ferry to Batam. Naturally his family followed suit voluntarily, as UAS was the group leader, they weren’t about to vacation without him.
Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs published the reasons behind their decision which include his justification for suicide bombings by Palestinians against Israeli forces, preaching extremist and segregationist views, disparaging and insulting other faiths, and so on. They reiterated the point that entry to a country is not a right but an individually assessed privilege.
The Head of the Commission VIII, a commission which deals with religious and social issues, Yandri Susanto, calls it nonsensical and wonders if the Singapore government is hostile towards Indonesian muslims, which itself makes absolute nonsense because there are thousands of Indonesian Muslims working and living in Singapore without problems and even more travel between the countries regularly.
The Commission ‘s Deputy Head Ace Hasan Shadily, is demanding the Singapore government provide specific examples or proof that UAS had been spouting these extremist views.
Supporters of UAS staged protests in Jakarta and Meda criticizing Singapore. The protest in Jakarta however, was a wash, after heavy rain damaged their audio equipment. They demanded that Indonesia expel the Singapore Ambassador if the Embassy does not issue an apology in 48 hours, or they will do it themselves.
They also, predictably, went after the social media accounts of the President of Singapore, who is a Muslim, by the way, as well as the Prime Minister’s and other government accounts, further cementing Indonesia’s title of having the worst behaved citizens in Southeast Asia, according to the Digital Civility Report released by Microsoft in 2021.
Quick Reads
Historical Gold Medal in SEA Games Basketball
Indonesia made history at the Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi this weekend after defeating The Philippines to win the gold medal in basketball for the first time ever. In the history of the event The Philippines had won 18/21 occasions since 1977, while Malaysia won it twice. The dominance of Philippines basketball had been absolute in the region, winning every game since 1997.
Eat Like the Poor Event Canceled
A Bali restaurant’s idea to offer customers a five course meal experience to eat like the poor was swiftly canceled after they received a strong backlash. Charging Rp300k per person, patrons were going to be served raskin or beras miskin (rice for the poor) and other fancily plated “poor people’s dishes”.
No Charges for Meth Smugglers
The Banten police have decided to drop all charges against a civil servant working for the prosecutor's office in Cilegon after the 35-year-old tried to smuggle meth hidden inside a phone charger into a local prison.
Police said "IW" and his colleague "SD" were mere witnesses in the case instead of suspects because the two "had no ill intentions".
The cops said SD received an anonymous phone call telling him to bring the charger to an inmate at the prison. Well this guy must have been a good yet gullible samaritan, because the cops said he followed the anonymous caller's instructions and asked his friend IW to deliver the charger to the inmate.
Both IW and SD told the cops they didn't know there was meth in the charger.
And so they walk while the only ones facing justice were two inmates and a guy who is now at large.