The Use Of PeduliLindungi App At Malls Is Mandatory, East Java Apindo Agrees With Puan Asking The Government To Give Smartphones To The Community

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The East Java Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) asked the government to provide Android-based smartphone or gadget facilities for the community, related to the policy of implementing the PeduliLindungi application in a number of shopping center locations.

Secretary of Apindo East Java, Dwi Ken Hendrawanto said Minister of Home Affairs Instruction No. 38 of 2021 which states that as of September 7, 2021, a number of activities must use PeduliLindungi, need to be supported by information technology networks (IT) and vaccine services.

For the IT network, one of them is the provision of gadgets, while the vaccine service is to intensify vaccinations.

"The problem now is that not all people have been vaccinated and have androids. This ultimately has an impact on people's visits to supermarkets and hypermarkets", said Dwi Ken, quoted from Antara, Tuesday, September 14.

So that all people can get vaccine services, said Dwi Ken, the government must also support other infrastructure facilities related to IT networks or the provision of devices, as well as create other alternatives so that people can shop easily.

Internally, Dwi Ken admitted that Apindo East Java is also trying to speed up vaccination for the community, by providing information related to vaccination and injections in several locations. This is so that all people can get vaccine services.

Previously, the Chair of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), Puan Maharani, said the same thing, namely that no people's rights should be lost during the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic just because they don't have a smartphone.

"We know that not all Indonesians have smartphones so they can download the PeduliLindung application. Therefore, the government must think of other mechanisms for people who do not have smartphones", said Puan in a statement in Jakarta.

She said this was related to gadgets being the main tool for downloading the PeduliLindungi digital application, which is a requirement for many things for the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, including accessing public spaces.

Puan cites Newzoo data which states that smartphone users in Indonesia in 2020 will reach 160.23 million people.

According to her, based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) the total population of Indonesia in 2020 is 270.20 million people, meaning that there are still 109.97 million people who do not have smartphones.

"About 100 million more Indonesians who do not have smartphones, their rights should not be reduced or lost during the pandemic, just because they do not have the PeduliLindungi digital application download tool", she said.

According to her, people who have been vaccinated but don't have a smartphone to download PeduliLindungi should receive the same appreciation as those who have a cellphone and have downloaded the application.

Puan reminded that not just because you don't have a smartphone and can't download PeduliLindungi, you can't enter the mall, you can't travel, and so on.