Worried About The Emergence Of Mafia, PKS Party Asks The Government To Be Transparent About The Price Of PCR Test

Illustration (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - PKS Party politician Netty Aher Prasetiyani is worried that a new mafia will emerge after the mandatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test was imposed for passengers on land and air transportation modes due to high prices and old test results.

The member of Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR) reminded the government about the limited ability of the lab to carry out PCR tests.

"If the government requires PCR, it should pay attention to the availability and readiness of the laboratory in the field. Don't let the community suffer again. For example, the results cannot come out 1X24 hours," said Netty, Wednesday, October 27.

In addition, there are efforts for the PCR letter forgery business due to the high price of the test. "Not to mention the issue of falsification of PCR documents which are traded or tricked because of the urgency of the situation," she continued.

Therefore, the West Java legislator asked the government to explain the basic price of PCR in a transparent manner. Because according to her, people are still wondering, what is the actual basic price of PCR. Where at first the PCR test was above IDR 1 million, then it fell to IDR 300 thousand.

"Moreover, the government did not explain the mechanism for the reduction. Is there a subsidy from the government or what?," said Netty.

Netty also hopes that the issue of the COVID-19 pandemic will not become a space for parties who use it for business interests.

"The government must have a firm attitude that all handling policies are purely for the safety of the people," said Netty.

As is known, the government has just issued a regulation requiring PCR tests for airplane passengers. This step was taken following the anticipation of a new wave of COVID-19.

The government also stated that it had lowered the price of the PCR test to IDR 300 thousand. After previously set around IDR 450 thousand to IDR 550 thousand.