Again! Luhut Binsar Panjaitan Becomes The Emergency PPKM Commander
JAKARTA - The implementation of the Java-Bali Emergency Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) for the next 2 weeks is said to be announced today.
According to information circulating, restaurant closures will be enforced, except for take-away, mall operating hours, and 100 percent Work From Home (WFH) for all offices.
In this implementation, the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsat Panjaitan is also rumored to be taking over the handling of the pandemic in the Java-Bali region.
Meanwhile, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy who is also the Chair of the COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery Committee, Airlangga Hartarto, is in charge of handling other than the Java-Bali region.
Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan is again trusted by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to be the commander of the Emergency PPKM implementation to deal with the surge in COVID-19 cases. Previously, Luhut had also been assigned by Jokowi to take command of handling COVID-19 in September last year.
However, not only Java-Bali, in mid-September last year, Luhut took command of the Corona handling in 8 provinces with the former Head of the COVID-19 Task Force Doni Monardo.
In 2 weeks, Jokowi asked Luhut to handle 8 provinces, namely DKI Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, North Sumatra, South Sulawesi, South Kalimantan and Papua. The President at that time wanted the handling of Corona in the country based on a local-based strategy. Luhut's appointment to handle COVID-19 at that time drew various responses. There are parties who agree with the appointment of Luhut because of his experience in the military, others do not agree. At one time, the policy was controversial because it was different from the policy of the Provincial Government.
After being given the responsibility to take command of handling COVID-19, Luhut said there were two focuses. Luhut involved the role of the TNI-Polri in dealing with Corona.
"First, maximizing the role of the TNI and Polri in assisting the Governor. I want both of them to work together with the Governor to determine the vulnerable points in each region to enforce health protocol discipline. Second, I ask the Pangdam and Kapolda to check the accuracy of each data in each region. "Each district and city deals with the variable number of cases, the number of cure rates, the death rate," said Luhut, last Tuesday, September 15. Now, in the midst of a crazy spike in positive cases, the retired general is again in command of handling COVID-19. Luhut was re-appointed by President Jokowi as the Emergency PPKM Coordinator. Spokesman for the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs, Jodi Mahardi confirmed that President Jokowi had appointed Luhut to be the Emergency PPKM Coordinator for the islands of Java and Bali. However, the tightening is currently being drafted. "It is true that the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries has been appointed by Mr. President Jokowi as the Emergency PPKM Coordinator for Java and Bali. Currently, the tightening measures to be taken are being formulated. The official announcement will be delivered directly by Mr. President Jokowi," Jodi said in his statement, Tuesday, June 29.
The essential sector, said Jodi, will continue to operate for a shorter duration. "Supermarkets, malls, and other essential sectors will continue to operate with shortened operating hours and strict procedures," said Jodi.
He asked residents not to panic about this Emergency PPKM plan. "Please don't panic with the news circulating in the WhatsApp group," added Jodi.