Escorting The Import Of COVID-19 Drugs, Moeldoko: Don't Use It For Personal Interests, It's A Business With Me Later

Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko (Photo: Instagram)

JAKARTA - The Presidential Staff Office (KSP) oversees the coordination of support and transportation assistance for the import of raw materials for drugs and medicines to meet the needs of COVID-19 patients.

As is known, the government will import three types of COVID-19 drugs which are currently rare and cannot be produced domestically, including Remdesivir, Actemra, and Gamaras from July to August.

"I have monitored and seen that there are several issues, ranging from the scarcity of imported drugs, transportation problems due to limited cargo, and customs clearance or inspection which takes a long time, 7 to 10 days," said Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko, in his statement, Friday, July 30.

Moeldoko admitted that he had reported the problem in a limited meeting with President Joko Widodo (Jokowi). Therefore, his party held a coordination meeting to request information related to the procurement of medicines for handling COVID-19.

"I have conveyed the problem at a limited meeting. For transportation, there will be support from the TNI, then the problem of customs clearance must be accelerated. We need detailed information regarding what to import, how much, and what type. So that it can be accommodated properly and immediately we accelerate the process," said Moeldoko. Moeldoko stated that the government had heard and monitored this issue so that it would facilitate the transportation of medicines and medical devices from abroad. However, he reminded all parties not to take advantage of this facility for personal gain.

"With this convenience facility, please take advantage of it properly because we want the availability of drugs to be fulfilled immediately. But this convenience should not be used for personal interests. I will deal with it later," he said.

Meanwhile, Assistant Operations (Asops) to the TNI Commander Maj. Gen. Syafruddin said his party had prepared a Hercules transport plane to help transport imported medicines and medical devices for handling COVID-19. medicine and medical devices in India and China. We are currently waiting for the pick-up schedule. We hope we can get a schedule sooner, so we can be prepared," he said.