Pity! 24,594 Foreigners Arrive At Soekarno-Hatta Airport During Emergency PPKM

JAKARTA - The Class I Immigration Office for TPI Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang, Banten, recorded as many as 24,594 foreign nationals (WNA) arriving in Indonesia from June 1 to July 6, 2021.

The implementation of the Emergency Community Activity Restriction (PPKM) itself has been in effect since July 3, 2021. After previously implementing the PPKM Micro since June 1, 2021.

Responding to the increasing number of foreign arrivals in Indonesia, Kurniasih Mufidayati, a member of Commission IX of the DPR PKS faction, regretted the lax government policy.

According to him, bringing in foreigners from countries affected by COVID-19 is the same as importing even greater Corona cases to Indonesia.

"I feel sorry for the Indonesian people. In the midst of the struggle against COVID-19 and the implementation of Emergency PPKM, the state has opened the door for foreigners to arrive in Indonesia. This is actually a counter-productive policy in handling COVID-19," said Mufida, Friday, July 9.

Moreover, he continued, the number of foreigners who arrived were dominated by countries that carried the virus. Such as China, India, Japan, South Korea, the United States and Russia.

For this reason, the DKI Jakarta legislator requested that the state be more fair in implementing the Emergency PPKM by not opening up opportunities for foreigners to come to Indonesia. Because said Mufida, if this continues, the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic will be hampered.

"It's the same as being insensitive to the suffering of the people. Traders and workers who are not included in non-essential and non-critical businesses are forced to not be able to work for their daily livelihood. This completely eliminates human values," he said.

The irony, added Mufida, is that people are told to stay at home to comply with the Emergency PPKM policy, but foreigners who come from abroad are free to arrive in Indonesia without any strict rules.

Therefore, he advised the government to stop bringing in foreigners first during the implementation of the Emergency PPKM. This is because Indonesia is focusing on handling COVID-19, which is increasing day by day.

"We are having difficulties in dealing with cases," said Mufida.