Jokowi Visits Mall, Fadli Zon: How Are You Doing With Traditional Markets?

Illustration (Photo: Sangga Rima Roman Selia, Unsplash)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) visited a shopping center in Bekasi, West Java, yesterday. The aim is to review the readiness to implement the new standard of living procedure (new normal) in commercial facilities.

Gerindra Party politician Fadli Zon immediately reacted to Jokowi's move. Because, he considered Jokowi to have more attention to malls. In fact, he even named Jokowi as a mall ambassador.

"P @jokowi pd the mall's extraordinary concern, it can be said that" Duta Mall Indonesia, "said Fadli Zon on his twitter account @fadlizon.

He also questioned Jokowi's concern for traditional or public markets. "How are you doing with traditional markets and people's markets?", Said Fadli.

As for Jokowi's arrival, it was interpreted by some that the mall would open in the near future. Then is this step correct?

According to epidemiologist Dicky Budiman, the discourse on opening malls is not yet feasible. Moreover, the area is still in the status of Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB). The government should have waited for the PSBB period to end and saw the results of the evaluation.

"The timing is too hasty, plus close inter-phase breaks. There should be an inter-phase evaluation because it is likely that there will be many obstacles in the field and interventions," said Dicky when contacted, Tuesday, May 26.

After all, the application of the new normal cannot be generalized nationally. This is because, according to Dicky, the conditions for the transmission rate of COVID-19 for each province are different.

The plan to open the mall, which reportedly began on June 5, was also criticized by the Chief Executive of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) Tulus Abadi. Tulus rejects the plan to open the mall, which is too early.

He estimated that until June 5, the corona virus was not safe to control, especially in the Jabodetabek area as the epicenter of the spread of COVID-19.

"Efforts to relax or form the mall opening can be done if indeed the curve of COVID has decreased or is sloping," said Tulus.

The plan to open the mall is indeed accompanied by a provision that all activities in shopping centers must follow the COVID-19 prevention protocol. However, Tulus doubts that all parties, both managers and visitors, consistently comply with the rules.

Supervision and prosecution for people who violate protocols such as not wearing masks and not applying physical distancing, according to Tulus, will be difficult.

"Even though they are advised, asked, obliged to use health protocols, the fact is that it will be very difficult to control and the potential for violations is very large," he explained.