Written by:
Rahmat Maulana Sidik
Advocation Coordinator
Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ)
Email: rmaulanasidik55@gmail.com
The people’s stories are being voiced amid this pandemic. All stories were told and complained about in a series of voice discussions from across the country held by Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ) in collaboration with the People’s Struggle Union (KPR) on April 24 to May 20, 2020. In that discussion, the people from various regions complained about the Government’s response in dealing with a pandemic that does not pay attention to the fulfillment of the people’s rights. In particular, with regard to the Large-Scale Social Restriction policy implemented by the respective Regional Governments which are running inconsistent with the fulfillment of the people’s rights. You can imagine when the large-Scale Social Restriction policy was implemented, the people were asked to stay at home. Meanwhile, there is no guarantee for the people to fulfill their daily needs. Then, how about their fatein facing this Covid19 pandemic.
The Large-Scale Social Restriction policy in the midst of the Covid19 pandemic has definitely added to the anxiety of the Indonesian people. Many sad stories were told by our siblings from various regions in a series of voice discussions from across the country. Including complaints about the slowdown in the community’s economy due to social restriction policies. The people cannot carry out their activities normally since there are restrictive rules for preventing the corona virus. Meanwhile, the Government is not responsive in responding to the anxiety that occurs in public, even the Government’s strategy is not yet mature enough to deal with this Covid19 pandemic.
South Sulawesi: The Large-Scale Social Restriction Policy Damages the People’s Economic Chain
In Sulawesi, the social restriction policy has an impact on the people’s anxiety, because they cannot sell their agricultural products. Like corn which is usually sold for animal feed, it is now difficult to sell it. Then, the cows that are usually sold to the people who will hold a wedding party/receptionnow there is no one accommodating their cows[1]. Since hosting a wedding party/reception has surelybeen prohibited since the Covid19 pandemic, the result of this social restriction has destroyed the economic chain of agricultural products and livestock for the people of Sulawesi.
Sadly, the government in the Sulawesi region only made an appeal to the Village Head to divert village funds to provide social aid to the community. However, it is not clear that the policy scheme is used and even there is no concrete effort to restore the economy of people who depend on the food sector for their livelihoods.
In addition, the Large-Scale Social Restriction policy was complained about by out-of-the-region students in South Sulawesi. They cannot return to their hometown, and must continue to carry out lecturing activities online. The dilemma was conveyed by friends of the People’s Struggle Union that students had difficulty funding to buy internet packages during online lectures. The cost to buy an internet data is massive plus the money for their daily needs (such as: food, drink, etc.). Meanwhile, their parents in the village are also experiencing economic difficulties amid this pandemic. What is complained about is that there is not the slightest incentive for internet data for students provided by the campus or the regional government in Sulawesi.[2]
North Sulawesi: The Large-Scale Social Restriction Is Not Implemented
There is no Large-Scale Social Restriction policy in North Sulawesi. Legal Aid in Manado conveyed its story in a voice discussion from across the country that the North Sulawesi Provincial Government did not implement the Large-Scale Social Restrictionbecause the Provincial Regional Fund could not finance or cover the needs of the community, starting with the provision of basic needs and other aid. Apart from the absence of a Large-Scale Social Restriction policy, Manado also allows people who want to go home, provided that they must be quarantined in their village for 14 days.
Meanwhile, Legal Aid in Manado[3]opens a complaint post or online consultation through social media (Facebook) Legal Aid in Manado for labors/workers who are sent home or people who need assistance in cases amid the Covid19 pandemic. At least after they opened the complaint post, there were 13 cases that had entered the complaint channel, including cases of workers who were sent home, layoffs and even not being paid by the company. Then Legal Aid in Manado helped the community complaint cases by forwarding it to the Government to present solutions for people who were facing problems amid this pandemic.
Bali: Not Implementing the Large-Scale Social Restriction, yet Social Restrictions Are Extraordinary
Based on stories from friends from the Manikaya Kauci Foundation[4], that in Bali they do not want to propose a large-scale social restriction policy to the Ministry of Health. However, the restrictions on social-community activity are extraordinary. Therefore, Manikaya Kauci’s friends believe that the Provincial Government of Bali to the City Government Regency Government in Bali wants its people to obey to stay at home, but the guarantee of the people’s needs for life does not want to be fulfilled. To do this, the Bali Provincial Government uses the role of traditional villages to regulate restrictions on community activities. This traditional village then formed a Covid19 task force called “Mutual Cooperation” which was filled by the Bali Indigeneous Police to supervise all social activities of the community, so they did not congregate.
Central Java: The Large-Scale Social Restriction Policy Should Have Provided Solutions for the Drop in Prices for Peasants’ Commodities
The Large-Scale Social Restriction policy in Central Java did not work effectively. Even though there have been calls for social restrictions, the community is still busy and gathering as in normal situations. The people of Central Java experience their own dilemma from the existence of a social restriction policy. Since if you listen to the advice of the Central Java Provincial Government by staying at home, then how do they support their families.
Even though the social safety net budget for handling Covid19 in Central Java is Rp 1.3 trillion. The numbers are quite fantastic when it is used to buy agricultural products directly from peasants. Apparently since this pandemic, the price of agricultural products has dropped dramatically, such as red guava in Central Java which is usually sold to middlemen for Rp 5,000 now it has dropped to Rp 750. Likewise, the prices of other commodities that also fell, such as chilies, vegetables and fish. What is unfortunate is that the Governor of Central Java did not focus on providing solutions to the drop in commodity prices for peasants, instead he was busy handling the parking polemic at Pantura. Thus, the Central Java Provincial Government does not have a navigator to deal with the threat of a food crisis that will occur amid the pandemic.
East Java: Building a Food Barn during the Large-Scale Social Restriction
Slightly different from other provinces, the Large-Scale Social Restriction policy in East Java is still implemented. The East Java Provincial Government calls on the people on all activities outside theirhouses to wear masks, apply hand sanitizers and avoid crowds of more than four people. From the implementation of these social restrictions, people definitely complain about access to basic needs groceries that are difficult to find in the general market. This is due to restrictions on buying and selling activities in busy places. This condition has been complained of by people who usually trade and consumers who buy in the general market. However, the East Java Provincial Government initiated by building the East Java Expo food barn, in which there are various basic food needs of the people. Hence, this food barn was built as a stock of food needs and could be accessed by all people of East Java. The policy of making food barns for the East Java Expo is also aimed at closing general market access which is usually used by the people for shopping for basic needs groceries, with the consideration of health in the midst of a pandemic, a food barn that can be accessed by all people is built.
South Sumatra: Large-Scale Social Restriction Policy Is Lately Implemented, Public Purchasing Power Decreased
The South Sumatra Provincial Government established the Large-Scale Social Restriction status on May 7, 2020, while many people in Palembang have been exposed to Covid19. In this case Legal Aid in Palembang deeply regretted the tardiness of the Provincial Government in responding to the pandemic, especially the implementation of the Large-Scale Social Restriction policy. According to him, there are many vulnerable groups exposed to Covid19 and must be protected, such as the urban poor.
In addition, he considered that the social restriction policies that were implemented did not pay attention to meeting people’s needs. Therefore, many South Sumatra people will fall into poverty. He conveyed that Statistics Indonesia data contained around 1.6 million people who were vulnerable to poverty, if there was no serious protection from the government it would increase the number of poor people after the pandemic.
The restriction policy also reduces people’s purchasing power in South Sumatra, because many businesses are closed, including many workers/laborers who have been laid off and sent home. Including consumer demand for traders is also decreasing. The Large-Scale Social Restriction policy in South Sumatra which closed schools also had a negative impact on students, in addition to disrupted teaching and learning activities students also tended to be lazy to study at home.
Lampung: The Large-Scale Social Restriction Policy Is Being Taken into Advantage by Employers to Castrate Workers’ Rights
In Lampung, the Large-Scale Social Restriction policy was implemented but the people activities were running normally. Only a few activities are temporarily closed, such as closing of schools and mosques. The Lampung People’s Struggle Union (KPR) said that the Large-Scale Social Restriction policy was actually used by employers to lay off workers and send home workers/laborers. From the data compiled by the KPR as of April 2020, there were around 1,600 workers who were laid off, if combined with workers who were laid off, the figure could reach around 2000 workers. In addition, the KPR also conveyed that theLarge-Scale Social Restriction policy condition in Lampung did not ease the payment of tuition fees for students whose campus activities were implemented online. Many Lampung students complain about online classes, because it costs a lot of money. Moreover, the campus also did not make regulations for waiving tuition payments, instead they collected payments as in normal circumstances
Indramayu: Agricultural Products Are Not Absorbed due to Large-Scale Social Restriction
The Head of Kalensari Village, Indramayu, in a voice discussion from across the country, stated that in Indramayu the Large-Scale Social Restrictionpolicy was implemented in conjunction with the peasants’ harvest season. However, he said that peasants were still allowed to go out to harvest the products from their farms. The concern of peasants in Indramayu is where to sell their agricultural products, because all transportation access is closed. It is said that the grain is not absorbed by the market. Due to concerns that agricultural products will not be absorbed by the market, the Village Head of Kalensari has made policies on a local scale related to the strategy for rice absorption. A local strategy that was made to sell agricultural products such as rice by marketing to Covid19 volunteers, on average, the volunteers bought rice from Kalensari village farmers at a price of Rp9,700.
Apart from making the policy, most of the peasants’ produce in this village is being kept. In Kalensari village there are around 385 households (KK), if in 1 family they save 2 tons of unhulled rice, then there are around 1000 tons of peasant’s grain. You can imagine there are 315 villages in Indramayu, how many tons of unhulled rice is stored and has not been absorbed. Kalensari Village Head questioned the role of Bulog which he said could accommodate peasants’ grain, Bulog should be able to absorb peasants’ grain yields whose market is unclear amid this outbreak.
The price of harvested dry unhulled rice is around Rp 3,000 to Rp 3,800, if you sell it to BUMDES, you receive it at Rp 4,300 and the middlemen usually collect below that price around Rp 4,100 and some even Rp 3,000. Grain is usually bought by middlemen, because middlemen in this village have production tools such as rice mills, thus many farmers sell their unhulled rice to middlemen. Even though it is sold at a price below the reference price for food.
Moluccas: The Moluccas Government’s Large-Scale Social Restriction Policy Does Not Guarantee the Effectiveness of the Economic Chain and Community Distribution
The Regional-Scale Social Restriction Policy (PSBR) established by the Moluccas Provincial Government to limit community activities between islands. Policy However, like most other areas, the Large-Scale Social Restriction and Regional-Scale Social Restriction policies make it difficult for peasants to market their agricultural products to the market due to access to transportation and restrictions on public markets. One civil society organization named HUMANUM questioned the clarity of the policy issued by the Maluku Government regarding the Regional-Scale Social Restriction, because this policy was not accompanied by education to the public. So that many people are afraid to over-face this pandemic, and are even afraid to market their agricultural products. As a result, people’s agricultural products have piled up and they don’t know where to sell them. The organization HUMANUM stated that the government may urge people to stay at home, but the government must also ensure how to keep the economic chain of society running.
As for the selling price of agricultural products, such as onions and vegetables, it is practically highly expensive unlike usual. Fishermen also experience distribution problems. From their catch, they are confused about where to distribute them. Moreover, fishermen who live in small islands in Moluccas, find it difficult to access transportation amid the Regional-Scale Social Restriction policy. The organization HUMANUM has concerns about how the government should ensure that the distribution chain of the people is not cut off and that consumers can also access their food needs amid this pandemic.
The Regional-Scale Social Restrictionpolicy made the HUMANUM organization limit advocacy and aid activities that gathered large numbers of people. However, theyalter it to personal (1 or 2 people). HUMANUM also provides education to the public with the tagline “Mari Bakabong” which means “Let’s Gardening” for their respective needs. Hence, they are campaigning not to think of selling, think of gardening for their own needs. This educational activity according to HUMANUM is to anticipate the scarcity of food needs during a pandemic.
East Kalimantan: Large-Scale Social Restriction Policy Is Not Implemented in the Mining Oligarchy Area
In East Kalimantan, there is no stipulation of the Large-Scale Social Restriction policy issued by the Provincial Government. The JATAM organization highlighted the absence of such a Large-Scale Social Restriction policy, even though 251 people had died infected with Covid19. They said that the Covid19 infection had spread to 3 mining company employees, namely PT. Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) which recently returned from India and Jakarta. The absence of a Large-Scale Social Restriction policy certainly keeps their mining activities running. It is proven by every time the barges carry coal with a cargo of around 45,000 to 50,000 tons. Therefore, JATAM believes that there will be no implementation of the Large-Scale Social Restriction policy in the mining oligarchy area, because to ensure that all their mining activities continue, especially in the East Kutai, Kutai Kertanegara and North Penajem Paser regions, because that’s where the ATM oligarchy and mine tycoons are.
Balikpapan is one of the cities with the most spread of Covid19, based on information obtained by JATAM that the Mayor of Balikpapan will propose a Large-Scale Social Restriction implementation to the Ministry of Health. However, they are still calculating whether the Regional Fund is sufficient or not to meet the basic needs of its residents of around 70,000 people. After consideration, the Mayor was not sure that the Regional Fund would meet the needs of its citizens. What is worried about is the call to stay home by the government, but the food needs of the people are in a crisis situation.
West Sumatra: The Large-Scale Social Restriction Policies which Counter Human Rights Upholding
Implementation of the status of the Large-Scale Social Restriction in West Sumatra is since April 22, 2020. This Large-Scale Social Restriction policy was made by setting a curfew in several districts/cities in West Sumatra. Legal Aid in Padang questioned the legal basis for setting hours by the West Sumatra Provincial Government. Some districts/cities impose a curfew on the community that prohibits activities from 10pm to 6am. Legal Aid in Padang revealed that indeed in social and political freedom there is freedom that can be limited under certain circumstances. However, it must be with clear regulations. Since if the regulations are not clear on the legal basis, the implementation and procedures can violate human rights.
Legal Aid in Padang received reports of a street singer being beaten because he was still around at 22.30 at night. However, after being reported to the Police, he did not receive a serious response from this persecution report. Legal Aid in Padang also highlighted the distribution of social aid that should have been channeled by the government prior to the Large-Scale Social Restriction policy. Thus, the community has met their needs, from food to money. Then after the implementation of the Large-Scale Social Restriction for 20 days, the community has not received social aid.
North Sumatra: The Large-Scale Social Restriction Policy Runs Halfheartedly
Civil society organizations in North Sumatra have criticized the Large-Scale Social Restriction policy implemented by the provincial government. Kontras North Sumatra revealed that Large-Scale Social Restriction is running half-heartedly, why is it said half-heartedly because one side of the community has limited mobility not to leave the house. On the other hand, the government cannot afford to pay for people who have to leave their homes to make ends meet. He expressed that people need assurance from the provincial government, at home who will pay for their economic needs and to what extent do they have to be at home, hence this policy is not clear. The government in North Sumatra did not take a concrete policy, whether to limit it at home, or just let it go. This is because the governor of North Sumatra took this matter lightly by saying that North Sumatra was not yet a red zone, the red was still pink. Therefore, the Large-Scale Social Restriction policy is still being implemented half-heartedly.
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Secretariat:
Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ)
Jalan Kalibata Tengah No. 1A, Kalibata, Jakarta Selatan. 12740
Website: www.igj.or.id | Email: igj@igj.or.id
[1]Armin Salasa, FIAN Indonesia – Sulawesi Selatan, diskusi melalui daring “Suara Dari Pelosok Negeri” sesi Sulawesi yang diselenggarakan oleh KPR (Kesatuan Perjuangan Rakyat) dan Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ) pada Mei 2020.
[2] Tenri Sompa, People’s Struggle Union ofSouth Sulawesi, online discussion “Voice from across the Country” Sulawesi sessionconducted byPeople’s Struggle Union (KPR)and Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ) in May 2020.
[3] Frank Kahiking, Legal Aid in Manado, online discussion “Voice from across the Country” Sulawesi sessionconducted byPeople’s Struggle Union (KPR)and Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ) in May 2020.
[4] I Nyoman Mardika, Manikaya Kauci Foundation, online discussion “Voice from across the Country” Sulawesi session conducted by People’s Struggle Union (KPR) and Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ) in May 2020..
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