Good News From Batam, PPKM Enforcement Team Members Get Rp500 Thousand

A number of residents of Batam City, Riau Islands were reprimanded by officers for violating health protocols. (ANTARA/HO-Batam City Government)

JAKARTA - The Batam City Government, Riau Islands has prepared a special budget for the honorarium for members of the Micro-Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) team.

"The 15,000 (members of the PPKM team, ed.) I want to budget with the DPRD team, the honorarium, because it is in the 'refocusing' category for COVID-19," said Batam Mayor Muhammad Rudi in Batam, Tuesday.

The government will budget honorariums for 15,000 members of the Micro PPKM team. Each member gets Rp500,000, so the total budget is around Rp7.5 billion.

He said that members of the Micro PPKM team should get an honorarium, because they have taken the time to discipline residents to apply health protocols in their environment.

"Because they have to stop their daily activities, they have to go there," he said.

He hopes that the honorarium will increase the motivation of the PPKM team to control their citizens to comply with health protocols.

To date, he noted that 2,000 members of the Micro PPKM team have been formed. Each Micro PPKM team consists of five team members.

Batam City Government implements the Micro PPKM policy in accordance with central government instructions.

He stated that there is a number of Micro PPKM policies that will be implemented, in order to break the chain of transmission of COVID-19 in the local area, 75 percent of offices are required to work at home, online teaching and learning activities, eating in shops are limited to 25 percent capacity and operating until 17.00 western Indonesia time, and to take home a maximum at 20.00 western Indonesia time.

In addition, malls may be open until 17.00 western Indonesia time with a maximum capacity of 25 percent, and all public facilities are temporarily closed.

He stated that actually some of the regulations had been implemented through the previous mayor's circular letter and would be refined again.