Benefits Of Paid Vaccines Of IDR 17.2 Trillion, Faisal Basri: This Is Because The State Transfers Its Authority To Private Corporations, BUMN, And Kadin

Senior economist Faisal Basri (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Senior economist Faisal Basri called the discourse of privatizing vaccines by selling directly to the public as an inappropriate decision. The reason is, this is a form of blunder decision in the midst of the current difficult situation.

"Never do the privatization of public policies. Do not transfer state authority to private corporations as well as BUMN and entrepreneur organizations (Kadin)," he said via the Twitter page @FaisalBasri as quoted on Tuesday, July 13.

According to Faisal, the step to accelerate vaccination by appointing a state-owned company as an intermediary selling strategic goods has violated the essence of a state company that should prioritize social missions rather than profit seeking.

"The noble task of SOEs is value creating for the benefit of the people, not value extraction or rent hunting. That's why there is a SOE Minister," he said.

In fact, Faisal calculates that if the paid vaccine program is rolled out, it is estimated that its commercialization value can reach fantastic numbers.

“Based on the initial scenario, imagine how lucrative the SOE vaccine business is. If the profit is Rp. 100,000 for the injection, the rent is Rp. 17.2 trillion. That's why there is a "gotong royong" vaccine (more precisely the rent-a-rent vaccine)," he said in response to a news article.

Moreover, Faisal continued, several state-owned pharmaceutical corporations are considered to have their own problems in managing the budget in which there is state money.

"If the BPK audit later finds that there is a mark-up practice, the pharmaceutical BUMN must return the excess to the government. If there is a criminal element, process it according to the applicable law," he added.

However, the economist continues to encourage state officials to improve policy management so that the handling of the pandemic can be wiser so that they can get out of the current unfavorable situation.

"It's time to straighten the crooked. Admit past mistakes, let's correct them, start a new page in order to save as many human lives as possible, especially the poor," he said.

As previously reported, the government appointed a pharmaceutical state-owned company PT Kimia Farma Tbk. as a paid vaccine distribution operator to the public. This then caused its own polemic in the community.

Finally, Kimia Farma's Corporate Secretary, Change Winarno Putro, stated that the company had postponed the distribution of paid vaccines to the public.

"We apologize because the Individual Mutual Assistance Vaccination schedule, which originally started on Monday, July 12, 2021, will be postponed until further notice," he said, Monday, July 12.

The plan, this commercial vaccine is priced at IDR 879,140 for two doses for individuals or individuals.