Again And Again, Chinese Foreign Workers Enter Indonesia During PPKM Level 4
JAKARTA - It happened again, as many as 34 foreign workers (TKA) from China entered Indonesia when PPKM level 4 took effect. The Chinese foreign workers who hold Limited Stay Permits (ITAS) entered via Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Saturday, August 7, yesterday.
The foreigners who landed at Soetta Airport boarded the Citilink aircraft with the code QG8815 carrying 37 passengers, consisting of 34 foreigners and 3 Indonesian citizens. The plane was carrying 19 crew members, all of whom were Indonesian citizens.
In response to this, Deputy Chairman of Commission V of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Syarief Alkadrie, asked for evidence that the 34 Chinese foreign workers were not a category of foreigners who were prohibited from entering Indonesia.
"Well, if it can be proven like that (in the category of exception, ed), then the government must obey the principle. It's just that what we have to pay attention to is those that don't fall into that category (exception)," Syarief told reporters on Sunday, August 8th.
"Don't let it happen again. This is important for the supervision of Immigration and airport authorities," he urged.
Minister of Law and Human Rights Regulation (Permenkumham) Number 27 of 2021 regulates 5 categories of foreigners who may enter the Republic of Indonesia, one of which is a foreigner holding a limited stay permit (ITAS). According to the Immigration Office, 34 Chinese foreign workers who entered Indonesia during PPKM were ITAS holders.
Menkumham Yasonna Laoly previously explained the categories of people who were not allowed to enter Indonesia. There are two categories, namely foreign workers who were previously part of a national strategic project and foreigners for reasons of family union. Syarief does not deny that with the issuance of the Minister of Law and Human Rights, people think that foreigners with the status of foreign workers are prohibited from entering Indonesia. However, he still urges the public to understand that based on Permenkumham 27/2021 there are a number of categories of foreigners who may enter Indonesia. RI). But we must admit that there are exceptions to this rule," explained the NasDem politician. Don't let the case of citizens (WN) passing quarantine repeat themselves. "There must be an exception to the rule. But they still have to meet the requirements. Unless they enter Indonesia, they don't go through the COVID procedure like India yesterday. That's bad," said Syarief. The West Kalimantan NasDem saw that the government needed to explain in detail about the 34 Chinese foreign workers who entered during this PPKM. "Explain in detail, don't just do it half-heartedly. At the time of the announcement that was prohibited, it was explained in detail, so that the people would know. There will be issues as if the government is inconsistent. This is not good for developing on social media," said Syarief.
According to Syarief, an explanation is needed to refute the issue that the government is not consistently applying the regulations. "Just explain, 'this is an exception. For them, this can be done.'
Explanation of the Directorate General of Immigration
The Directorate General of Immigration said 34 Chinese foreign workers had complied with the rules of the COVID-19 Handling Task Force. They have also received a recommendation to be allowed to enter from the Soekarno-Hatta Class I Port Health Office (KKP).
"They have passed a health check by KKP Soetta, then given a recommendation to be allowed to enter Indonesia. Then an immigration check was carried out and it was found that all of them were ITAS holders so they were included in the category of foreigners who were allowed to enter according to Menkumham Regulation 27 of 2021," explained the Head of Public Relations. and General Directorate General of Immigration Arya Pradhana Anggakara in his statement, Sunday, August 8. The government imposed a ban on foreigners during the COVID-19 pandemic and the ban was extended again during the PPKM period with the issuance of Minister of Law and Human Rights Regulation Number 27 of 2021. During the PPKM period, the government only allowed 5 categories of foreigners who may enter Indonesia, namely holders of official visas and diplomatic visas, holders of official residence permits and diplomatic residence permits, holders of limited stay permits and permanent residence permits, foreigners with health and humanitarian purposes with a recommendation from the ministry/institution that organizes function p handling COVID-19, as well as transportation crews. "All foreigners who enter Indonesia must also be vaccinated against full-dose COVID-19 and undergo a negative PCR test for COVID-19 according to the health protocol upon arrival as stipulated in the Addendum to the Circular Letter of the COVID-19 Handling Task Force. ," he stressed. If there are foreigners who do not meet the health and immigration requirements, he continued, the Immigration officers will refuse entry and return them to their original destinations. health checks and immigration. They were not allowed to enter and we immediately sent them back to their original destination," he said.
In the Regulation of the Minister of Law and Human Rights (Permenkumham) Number 27 of 2021, there are 5 types of foreigners who can enter Indonesian territory during PPKM. Foreigners who are allowed to enter the territory of Indonesia are only holders of Diplomatic Visas and Service Visas, holders of Diplomatic Stay Permits and Service Stay Permits, holders of Limited Stay Permits and Permanent Stay Permits, foreigners with health and humanitarian purposes, and crews of transportation means that come with their means of transportation. .
Yasonna emphasized that there will be coordination between ministries related to the process of entering foreigners into Indonesia. A number of foreigners who enter Indonesian territory must also have recommendations from ministries and institutions.
"Foreigners who enter for health and humanitarian purposes as referred to in Permenkumham Number 27 of 2021 must also first obtain a recommendation from the ministry or institution that carries out the function of handling COVID-19," Yasonna explained. About Visas and Residence Permits During the New Customs Adaptation Period. Changes to these rules have also been made to include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Transportation.