Loyalist Amien Rais: Minister Pak Jokowi Is More Concerned With Economic Recovery

JAKARTA - One of the founders of the National Mandate Party (PAN) who is also a loyalist of Amien Rais, Putra Jaya Husen said that ministers in the Advanced Indonesia Cabinet are more concerned with economic recovery than paying attention to health problems.

This was conveyed by Putra in response to the polemic regarding Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) between the central government and the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government.

"They are more inclined towards economic recovery than (prioritizing, red) the safety of the lives of residents," said Putra when contacted by VOI, Monday, September 14.

Regarding this difference of opinion, Putra also considered it a common condition among government ministers, Joko Widodo (Jokowi). Because, this kind of incident had occurred at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It's common among them that they don't have one voice, like a few months ago where the Indonesian Minister of Health and the Minister of Transportation had different attitudes about online motorcycle taxis whether or not they were allowed to carry passengers," he said.

The communication that often differs between ministers from one another, or among the central and local government ranks, needs to be addressed to prevent confusion in the community.

One way is to apply information from only one door. "The attitude of the central government should be through a presidential spokesperson, so that it does not differ," he said.

Meanwhile, regarding the decision of DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan to pull the emergency brake lever by imposing strict PSBB, Putra believes that this is a decision that needs to be taken to save Jakarta residents.

"I am sure what Governor Anies Baswedan and his staff have done, is merely to protect and protect Jakarta residents from the transmission of the corona virus," he said.

"Like a vehicle, PSBB continues to run but has several levels of gears. If things get worse it can go to fourth gear, if it gets better it can go down to third or second gear," he added.

Previously, DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan decided to pull the emergency brake amid the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus in the country. The Large-Scale Social Restriction Regulations (PSBB) such as in the early March pandemic were re-implemented.

This means that with this policy, Jakarta will re-tighten restrictions on activities that were relaxed during the transition to PSBB. All sectors that were permitted under the provision of reduced capacity and other health protocols must be closed again.

However, instead of agreeing, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said the PSBB announced by the Governor of DKI Jakarta Anies Baswedan actually caused negative sentiment towards the capital market. He considered that the decision made by Anies influenced the movement of the stock index, which had begun to move in a positive direction.

"Because today the index (IHSG) is still uncertain because of the Jakarta Governor's announcement last night. So that the index this morning was below Rp. 5,000," he said, during the National Chamber of Commerce meeting of Indonesia in Jakarta, Thursday, September 10.

Airlangga said Anies's decision to pull the emergency brake had a huge impact on the economy. This is because economic performance is not only influenced by fundamental conditions but also public and public trust.

"However, we have to look at the gas and brakes. If the gas or brake is sudden, we certainly have to maintain public confidence. Because the economy is not only fundamental, but also sentiment, especially for the capital market sector," he said.

In addition, the General Chair of the Golkar Party also said that the government's health capacity is unlimited and is available to the public. According to him, the government will continue to add health facilities. However, he did not disclose the data he had.

He only said that the government would use 2 and 3 star hotels as treatment rooms if the capacity at the hospital was no longer sufficient to accommodate COVID-19 positive patients.

In addition, he believes that the Athlete House which has been used to treat positive COVID-19 patients also still has sufficient space. According to him, the building will be maximized.