Anies Baswedan Asks For A COVID Vaccine For Foreigners Seeking For Asylum, Ferdinand: What An Incompetent Governor

Ferdinand Hutahaean (Photo: Screenshot of Youtube @Ferdinand Hutahaean)

JAKARTA - Former Democrat Party politician Ferdinand Hutahaean was surprised by the request made by the Governor of DKI Jakarta, Anies Baswedan to the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes).

Anies, through a letter Number 297/-1,772.1 dated July 12, 2021, asked Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin to replace foreign asylum seekers who cannot take part in the Mutual Cooperation Vaccination (VGR) program for free.

"Based on the results of the evaluation of the vaccination implementation in DKI Jakarta, there are foreigners who are vulnerable to COVID-19 transmission and it is not possible to use VGR, namely foreigners who are refugees and asylum seekers", Anies said in the letter.

According to Ferdinand, this proposal is strange. However, the government should prioritize COVID vaccination on its own citizens.

"It's true Indonesia should think about and prioritize Indonesians first, not think about citizens of other nations", said Ferdinand via his Twitter @FerdinandHaean3 quoted on Thursday, August 12.

"I don't want to be surprised by the way the governor of Jakarta thinks, which is actually NOT ABLE TO WORK to make Jakarta better", said Ferdinand.

The Ministry of Health through the Spokesperson for COVID-19 Vaccination Siti Nadia Tarmizi emphasized that foreign asylum seekers are not included in the priority for the COVID vaccine. This follows the limited number of vaccines globally. As a result, the Ministry of Health only prioritizes Indonesian citizens.

Anies' reason is that foreign asylum seekers get the vaccine because they live and work with other Indonesian citizens. They have relatively difficulty implementing strict health protocols and self-isolation. So, they also need protection.

Furthermore, Anies said that vaccination for asylum seekers had been proposed by the international agency United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to the Health Service on March 17, 2021.

However, the proposal from UNHCR is only limited to asylum seekers who meet the criteria for the elderly and have comorbidities.