PHRI: Restaurants Violating Health Protocol Must Be Sanctioned

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION/DOC ANTARA

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) supports the government's steps in monitoring and enforcing regulations to impose sanctions on restaurants that violate operational provisions and health protocols in the midst of the Enforcement of Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM).

"If there are still violations, they will be dealt with. In principle, organizations like ours do not support anything that violates the rules. Reward and punishment must exist. If they violate it, they will be punished," said the Secretary-General of the Central PHRI, Maulana Yusran, quoted by Antara, Sunday, June 20.

Maulana emphasized that this was because there were still restaurants that were stubborn by violating health protocols in the midst of increasing cases of the spread of COVID-19, especially in the capital city of DKI Jakarta.

The action taken by security officers both from the Government such as the Public Order Enforcers, as well as from the police and TNI at restaurants who stubbornly violate health protocols in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is considered appropriate.

One example of the action that is considered appropriate is the action taken by the DKI Public Order Enforcers on Saturday (19/6) night against a restaurant called Dapur Harmoni in the Gambir area, Central Jakarta which was uploaded to the @satpolppdki Instagram account.

The restaurant seemed from the outside locking the fence as if it were closed, but when checked, many visitors came over-capacity, and the restaurant was open until 01.00 western Indonesia time, exceeding the provisions stated during PPKM.

Head of DKI Jakarta Public Order Enforcers, Arifin, said that the restaurant was given a fine and the restaurant owner would be summoned to check the completeness of his business license, if found to be unlicensed, the restaurant would be permanently closed.

“It is usually not members of the PHRI who violate this, such a model must be monitored. This can undermine the commitment of other entrepreneurs who are already committed to implementing health protocols. In the end, those of us who obeyed were actually affected, so this is correct if we are subject to sanctions," said Maulana.

PHRI is one of the associations that supports the operation of the hotel and restaurant business by implementing health protocols and CHSE (Cleanliness, Health, Safety, Environmental Sustainability) standards so that the tourism sector can survive in the midst of the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic.

PHRI also supports government policies in order to eradicate the COVID-19 pandemic by complying with regulations and providing input to ensure that the hotel and restaurant ecosystem in Indonesia can continue to run well.