Indonesia Highlights: Malaysia Deports Over 4,000 Indonesian Migrant Workers due to Covid-19 | Indonesia Needs to Set Price Cap for Covid-19 Vaccine | Google Services Go Down about 30 Minutes

KOMPAS.com - Throughout the year, the government of Malaysia has been deporting over 4,000 undocumented Indonesian migrant workers via the border posts in Tebedu, Sarawak, and Entikong, West Kalimantan.

An Indonesian official in Pontianak, Kalimantan said the deportation took place following massive raids on illegal migrant workers. The move was done after Malaysia experiencing an economic slowdown triggered by the pandemic. The number of deported Indonesian migrant workers has reached more than double compared to last year.

On the issue of the Covid-19, the National Consumer Protection Agency (BPKN) has urged the government to set a maximum price of the Covid-19 vaccine. There is a need to have an affordable vaccine price in the fight against a pandemic.

The government has planned to focus on 70 percent of the 273 million population aged 18-59 to be immediately vaccinated.

Below are excerpts from the stories in Indonesia, curated by Kompas.com editors:

1. Malaysia Deports Over 4,000 Indonesian Migrant Workers due to Covid-19

KOMPAS.COM/HENDRA CIPTA A total of 245 illegal Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) have been deported from Malaysia through the border crossing inspection posts in Sarawak and West Kalimantan on Saturday, December 5, 2020.

Malaysia has deported 4.401 Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) through the border crossing inspection post in Entikong, West Kalimantan throughout the year due to the recessions triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The number of deported PMI increased by 61 percent compared to 2,732 people in 2019.

An official at the Agency for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BP2MI) in Pontianak Police Commissioner Erwin Rachmat said on Monday that the high deportation rate was due to the Covid-19 crisis, resulting in massive raids on undocumented PMIs.

Besides, Erwin said the repatriation of PMIs through the repatriation scheme has also increased by 143 percent from 161 people in 2019 to 374 people in 2020.

Source: https://regional.kompas.com/read/2020/12/14/18200691/imbas-covid-19-malaysia-deportasi-4401-pekerja-migran-indonesia-via-entikong.

2. Indonesia Needs to Set Price Cap for Covid-19 Vaccine

Shutterstock/Amazein Design Illustration of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The National Consumer Protection Agency (BPKN) has recommended that the government should set a cap on the Covid-19 vaccine price for those who will undergo self-funded vaccination.

Based on the BPKN estimation, ideally, the maximum price for the Covid-19 vaccine is 100,000 rupiahs ($7.05), which is in line with the World Health Organization (WHO) standards.

Deputy Chairman of the Research and Development Commission at BPKN, Anna Maria Tri Anggraeni, said the recommendation has already been submitted to the Ministry of Health.

She said that an affordable vaccine price is needed in the fight against a pandemic.

Source: https://money.kompas.com/read/2020/12/14/182821426/bpkn-usul-harga-vaksin-covid-19-paling-mahal-rp-100000.

3. Google Services Go Down about 30 Minutes

Blog Google An illustration of the icons of Google services.

Users of various Google services around the globe including Indonesia were unable to access Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps, Google Drive, and other popular products from 18:55pm to 19:30pm Jakarta time.

As soon as the services were back to normal, users were able to access them via desktops and mobile phones.

KompasTekno was also trying some of the popular Google services by sending an e-mail, uploading files into Google Drive, and opening the YouTube account. All services are functioning now.

Earlier, YouTube stated in its official Twitter account, “We are aware that many of you are having issues accessing YouTube right now — our team is aware and looking into it. We’ll update you here as soon as we have more news.”

When the services stopped working, users complained of being unable to use the services. These included the Google Play Store that could not be accessed by Android users who wanted to download and view some of its applications. Google Meet video call service was also affected.

Based on the DownDetector website, KompasTekno learned that almost all Google services showed an increase in the number of complaints. Users reported that they were unable to access Blogger, Drive, YouTube, Play, and Gmail.

Source: https://go.kompas.com/read/2020/12/14/223244074/google-services-go-down-about-30-minutes