Indonesia Highlights: President Jokowi Steps Up For Indonesia’s New Covid-19 Vaccine | Home Affairs Minister Warns Regional Heads to Comply With Health Protocols or Lose Their Jobs | Religious Affairs Minister Dismiss Saudi Ban of Indonesian Pilgrim

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia might be looking forward to the first mass vaccinations to counter Covid-19 next December or at the beginning of 2021, months after the pandemic was first detected in the country last March.

But this breakthrough is balanced by concerns about the effectiveness of the vaccine and its side effects. Indonesian President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo himself pledged to go into the unknown by volunteering to be a guinea pig for the vaccine.

Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian sternly warned governors to enforce health protocols or lose their jobs.

His warning comes after Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil failed to stop Islamic Defenders Front [FPI] head Habib Rizieq from flouting those protocols following his return from exile in Saudi Arablia last week.

Last but not least, Religious Affairs Minister Fachrul Razi assured the Indonesian public that Saudi Arabia did not ban Indonesian pilgrims wishing to carry out the Umrah minor pilgrimage, after Riyadh temporarily curtailed granting visas to them after 13 pilgrims tested Covid-19 positive.

Read on to get more details of these news, as curated by our editors:

KOMPAS.COM/RAMDHAN TRIYADI BEMPAH President Joko Widodo at a vaccine trials in Tanah Sareal, Bogor, West Java [18/11/2020

1. President Jokowi Steps Up For Indonesia’s New Covid-19 Vaccine

President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo is prepared to set an example for the Indonesian people in the country’s struggle against the Covid-19 pandemic, by becoming the first person to be vaccinated for the coronavirus.

“I am ready to be the first to be vaccinated, though that decision depends on the [Presidential] medical team’s advice. But if I have to be among the first to receive the vaccine, then I am ready,” the President said on 18 November.

“The vaccine is prioritized for health workers like doctors and nurses, followed by military and police personnel, then teachers and other civil servants.”

President Jokowi estimated that the vaccine will be ready by December 2020 or the beginning of 2021, pending clinical tests and Emergency Use Authorization clearance from the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency or BPOM, as well as the logistics of delivering the vaccines nationwide.

The Indonesian government is working with foreign vaccine manufacturers like Sinovac from China, Astra Zeneca from the UK and other pharmaceutical companies to provide hundreds of millions of vaccines for Indonesia

Source:

https://megapolitan.kompas.com/read/2020/11/18/16460601/jokowi-siap-jika-jadi-orang-pertama-yang-disuntik-vaksin-covid-19. 

ANTARA FOTO/Akbar Nugroho Gumay Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian during a meeting with the House of Representatives on September 21 in Jakarta.

2. Home Affairs Minister Warns Regional Heads to Comply With Health Protocols or Lose Their Jobs

Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian has warned regional heads throughout Indonesia to comply with health protocols or be out of a job.

The former Indonesian National Police Chief required governors and regents to “set an example for their voters in complying with health protocols. This includes participating in large gatherings that potentially violate health protocols…Failure to do so will result in the official’s dismissal.”

The point inferred to Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and West Javan Governor Ridwan Kamil, after they failed to stop Islamic Defenders Front [FPI] head Habib Rizieq from holding rallies in both provinces .

The controversial cleric flouted protocols on wearing masks or socially distancing during his unruly homecoming at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport 10 November until he threw a reception for his daughter on 15 November.

10 thousand showed up at the latter event, prompting fears of a new Covid-19 cluster in the capital.

Source:

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/11/18/22152671/mendagri-terbitkan-instruksi-penegakan-protokol-kesehatan-ingatkan-kepala?page=all#page2. 

Idham Khalid Indonesian Religious Affairs Minister Fachrul Razi at a doorstop interview (17/9/2020)

3. Religious Affairs Minister Dismiss Saudi Ban of Indonesian Pilgrims

Religiou Affairs Minister Fachrul Razi maintained that Saudi Arabia still allows Indonesian pilgrims to enter the country for umrah or minor pilgrimage.

His assertion overturned news that Saudi Arabia barred Indonesian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, after 13 of them tested positive for Covid-19 soon after their arrival to the country.

“The allegations that [Saudi Arabia] barred Indonesian pilgrims from going to a minor pilgrimage is a hoax,” the former fours star general said in a hearing with Parliament

“The pilgrim route from Indonesia is only temporarily stopped, but will resume on 22 November following repairs on their upgrade systems.”

Source:

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/11/18/12155811/menag-soal-umrah-ditutup-itu-hanya-hoaks.