The Government Opens The Door For Chinese Foreign Workers, Faisal Basri: In The Midst Of The Pandemic, We Disallow Investment

Indef's senior economist, Faisal Basri. (Photo: Doc. Kemenkominfo)

JAKARTA - The number of COVID-19 cases in the country has continued to increase in recent times. In the midst of this high number of cases, the government is considered to still open the door for foreign workers (TKA) from China. Senior Economist Faisal Basri believes that the government has no sense of crisis.

Based on the data presented, Faisal said that the level of foreign tourist visits to Sam Ratulangi was always at one thousand per month. In fact, he said, generally, the area visited for a tour is the island of Bali.

"Then in the midst of the pandemic, we are still very welcome to Chinese workers. This is the number of visitors, of course, the visitors don't want to travel. If they travel to Bali, there are less than 10 (people), roughly 3, 9, 8. In May only 8 people went to Bali, but 1,015 thousand went to Sam Ratulangi, a thousand continue every month. We'll let this happen", he said in a virtual discussion, Friday, July 16.

Furthermore, Faisal said that regarding these foreign workers, the Chinese government had also responded that the visit was based on the permission of the Indonesian government.

"So where is the sense of crisis. In the middle of a pandemic, do we want to idolize investment? In the name of investment, we actually can't get anything. So I am speechless when I see these data", he said.

As is known, the entry of dozens of foreign workers (TKA) from China to Indonesia when cases of the COVID-19 pandemic have high triggered a polemic. The number of foreign workers entering the country is 20 people.

The company that employs 20 Chinese foreign workers, namely PT Huadi Nickel Alloy, reasoned that their arrival was to accelerate the construction of a smelter plant that will operate in November 2021.

Minister Counselor at the Chinese Embassy to Indonesia, Shi Ziming said that currently the Indonesian government still allows foreign nationals to enter Indonesia and has not suspended international flights and visa issuance due to the surge in COVID-19 cases.

Shi said that currently the COVID-19 pandemic situation in China has been effectively controlled by the Chinese government, requiring every citizen to take strict precautions and protections by the requirements of their own government and the Indonesian government.