Jokowi Appoints Indonesian Army Chief of Staff to Covid-19 Team

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has appointed Army Chief of Staff General Andika Perkasa as deputy chief executive of the newly established Covid-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery Committee.

Andika will assist State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir who serves as the committee’s chief executive.

“Andika’s appointment was based on President Jokowi’s decision,” said Erick after a meeting with Andika at the Indonesian Army Headquarters in Jakarta on August 7.

Also read: President Jokowi Forms New Committee to Curb Covid-19, Revive Economy

The minister said that Jokowi is of the view that handling Covid-19 requires the presence of the Indonesian Military (TNI) to ensure public discipline in implementing health protocols. This is also part of the short-term programs to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country.

“Discipline is needed to protect the community. It does not mean the use of authority to punish but it is the main step we must take,” he said.

“TNI has to maintain the self-discipline of the people in 83,000 sub-districts and villages and to ensure the vaccine process next year will run smoothly with the help of the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Culture, the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) and the National Police,” he said.

Also read: Only Indonesia’s Central Government Has Authority to Designate Covid-19 Safe Zones

It was previously reported that the Covid-19 committee was formed after Jokowi signed the new Government Regulation No. 82/2020 in July.

The president assigned the team to create and execute programs so that the Covid-19 mitigation and economic recovery can be done simultaneously and will be supervised by a single institution for optimal coordination. The team is tasked with evaluating the national economic conditions, multi-year economic program, development of Covid-19 cases, and availability of test kits and vaccines.

(Writer: Egidius Patnistik | Editor: Egidius Patnistik)

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/08/08/07002441/ksad-jenderal-andika-perkasa-jadi-wakil-erick-thohir-di-komite-penanganan.