Puan Maharani Talks About The History Of Sacrifice In Eid And Comparing It With The Sacrifice During The Pandemic

JAKARTA - The Chairperson of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, believes that the commemoration of Eid al-Adha must be interpreted as meaning that all elements of the nation sacrifice their egos and personal interests to work together to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It's time for us to sacrifice our egos and personal interests to work together to 'paddle a big boat' so that Indonesia gets out of this storm (COVID-19 pandemic)," said Puan in a statement in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Tuesday, July 20.

According to him, in Eid al-Adha, people are asked to understand that in this life there are things that should be sacrificed for the greater good.

Puan refers to the early history of sacrificial worship during the time of Prophet Ibrahim, who prioritized Allah's commands above his own interests as a father, and even waited a long time to be able to have children, namely Ismail.

"Today, when the COVID-19 pandemic is still a daily reality. The meaning of Eid in this situation should be expanded with the essence of the same greater importance," he said.

He assessed that the sacrifices in a pandemic situation did not have to be very large, starting from the awareness to take care of themselves and others by wearing masks, keeping a distance, washing hands, and not leaving the house except for essential needs.

According to him, learning from the spike in cases during special periods such as Eid al-Fitr and the New Year, people are advised not to go home and visit each other in crowds related to Eid al-Adha 1422 H, let alone traveling.

"If necessary, the government and officials should close access to out of town on the red day of the national holiday, which is also a long holiday if calculated from Saturday. Make all necessary efforts. Socialization needs to be intensified so that people understand why all these efforts need to be done together," he said.

Puan assessed that restrictions on mobility and opportunities for violating health protocols to maintain distance were part of the joint efforts needed to contain the spread of COVID-19.

He invited the public to sacrifice time, fun, and a little freedom so that the transmission of COVID-19 could be controlled immediately and together we can step and run towards the future.

He considered that now is the time for all elements of the nation to join hands, help each other, and take care of each other so that together we can get out of the COVID-19 pandemic.