Yogyakarta, CPPS UGM – The world has not currently become free from the COVID-19 pandemic, even the cases are still showing an increase in some countries, including Indonesia. The real concern of the spike in cases is the limited of medical services due to the limited capacity of medical facilities and resources in treating patients. If this happens, the unhandled problem of high mortality rate due to COVID-19 and other diseases will then become unavoidable. Until the end of August 2021, the mortality rate of COVID-19 was 4.51 million. The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia have reached 4.08 million people with the mortality rate of 132,000 people. 

The high mortality rate during a pandemic will affect the number and structure of the world’s population. At the beginning of the pandemic, for instance, many deaths due to COVID-19 were found in elderly and thus, it may change the composition of population in an area. The official record of changes in population structure due to the COVID-19 pandemic has not been studied in detail and the data has not been released as well due to the high amount of energy and resources being absorbed to deal with COVID-19. The current deaths due to COVID-19 no longer occur in certain age groups, but in almost all age groups. Therefore, the public is increasingly anxious and worried, especially regarding the high mortality rate which will reduce the population.

This situation reminds us of the old theory put forward by Thomas Malthus. At the end of the 17^th century (1798), Malthus wrote his opinion in a provocative article entitled An essay in the principle of population as it affects the future improvement of society. He was concerned about the imbalance between developing population growth and food availability. He said that population growth following a geometric series (e.g., from 2 to 4, from 4 to 8, from 8 to 16 and so on) will not be supported by the ability to produce food whose growth follows an arithmetical series (e.g., from 1 to 2, 3, 4, etc.). He then analyzed that as the population grew, the competition among individuals was getting tougher. This situation will be exacerbated by the presence of disastrous factors, such as seasonal disease, epidemics, and catastrophic outbreaks that can wipe out the population. He suggested two things to balance the rate of population growth with food availability, i.e., preventive check and positive check. The former is an effort made to keep population growth under control, such as avoiding marriage and limiting the number of births. The latter is one of the ways for controlling population growth through extreme means, such as war, disease and epidemics, poverty, and famine.

Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and the deaths, cautious actions are needed to interpret the pandemic as a positive check. Moreover, governments in various countries have made preventive check. In Indonesia, the government has taken precautions to suppress the spread of COVID-19. Since being declared a pandemic by the head of state in March 2020, the government has implemented a large-scale social restriction (known as Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar/PSBB) policy. The policy is the basis for limiting public social activities in public spaces, such as education and some jobs that are performed online. In the mode of transportation, restrictions are made in terms of the passenger capacity and the intensity of its operation, while in places of worship, the policy is applied by not holding worship activities. The restrictions also operate in strategic sectors, such as health, economy and food, fuel oil and gas, and other basic needs. It is still in effect today by concerning the cases of COVID-19 that occurred in village and sub-district units. If no cases of COVID-19 are found in villages and sub-districts, then the activities in public spaces can be held. On the other hand, if thee COVID-19 cases are found, the activities will be restricted. In line with the restrictions on social activities, the government has taken other strategic steps in the form of preparing COVID-19 emergency hospitals, isolation places for COVID-19 sufferers, establishment of shelters, and COVID-19 detection tests. In terms of nomenclature and implementation, the restrictions are continuously updated following the developments of COVID-19 in the community. Therefore, there is no omission for the spread of COVID-19. The government has made preventive check so that the morbidity and mortality rate due to COVID-19 can be suppressed, and thus, natural factors and mechanisms that may work to achieve balance do not work alone. This gives rise to the principle of “Only the strong will survive” as a positive check derivative is not found.

Positive check, as what Malthus reasoned, is the operation of variables that affect population growth and are not controlled. This means that there is an impression of neglect until an evolution is created which is marked by the survival of a strong population, while the population that loses competition will become extinct. The ongoing pandemic cannot necessarily be said to be the “rise of Malthus” to achieve balance because efforts have been made to reduce the impact of deaths from the pandemic. A lockdown has been applied to limit the movement of people to suppress the spread of the COVID-19 virus. There are efforts to provide vaccines to create herd immunity and the establishment of emergency hospitals to deal with COVID-19. If such preventive efforts had not been made, the COVID-19 might have spread more massively and resulted in greater numbers of deaths. Finally, Malthusian theory which states that to get a balance between population and food availability can be reached through a positive check is not found in the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

References

Malthus. 1798. An Essay in the principle of population as it affects the future improvement of society. London. (http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/malthus/malthus.0.html; November 10, 2004)

A. Mukhopadhyay, Malthus. [2003]. Population Theory. An Irony in the Annals of Science, Breakthrough, Vol. 10, No. 3

 

*Sumini, S.Si., M.Si. | Researcher at CPPS UGM | Language translator: Rinta Alvionita | Illustration: Affen Irhandi/CPPS UGM

CPPS UGM – The 5^th Asian Population Association (APA) Conference of the year has been held virtually on 3-5 August 2021 in Indonesia by collaborating with BKKBN, UNFPA, and CPPS UGM. Union Formation is one of the interesting topics discussed in the parallel class on the second day, August 4, 2021. More than 80 participants joint this session with three speakers, i.e., Yothin Sawangde, Ph.D (an Associate Professor at the Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University, Thailand), Fatemeh Torabi Ph.D (Research Officer and Data Analyst at Swansea University, Iran), and Prof. Hiroshi Kojima (Professor of Social Sciences at Waseda University, Japan).

The Role of Family in Children’s IQ Development

“The joy felt by children can affect the development of their IQ” is the highlight of a study entitled “Family Context, Sufficient Physical Activity, and Game Consequences on Primary School Age Children’s Jovial Habit and IQ in Thailand” conducted by Yothun Sawagde. This study targets 2,306 respondents who are the youngest children in the family, usually the second or third child. Using the Path Analysis method, the results of this study indicate that parental support, both in the nuclear family and extended family, has an influence on children’s jovial behavior and has an impact on children’s IQ scores.

“Besides father and mother in a nuclear family, the extended family such as grandparents, apparently also plays an important role in increasing or decreasing children’s jovial behavior which then has a great impact on their IQ scores,” Sawangde said.

Therefore, according to him, environment and circumstances are the most important things in shaping children’s psychological condition and intelligence.

Marital Preference in Iran and Japan

Another speaker, Prof. Hiroshi Kojima, delivered his finding on the premarital cohabitation experience of married couples in Japan. He explained that the results of his study entitled “Correlation of Premarital Cohabitation Experience of Married Adults in Japan” showed that there were differences in gender-based cohabitation strategies.

In addition, women with low education tend to want to get married faster. Moreover, if there is a premarital cohabitation (Cohabitation First Before Marriage), the marriage will happen more quickly. On the other hand, women with higher education tend to get engaged first and ask their parents’ permission to live under the same roof.

Women with higher education usually postpone their marriage to advance a professional career while keeping their relationship and seeking equal relationship.

On the same occasion, Fatemeh Torabi through er study entitled “Temporal Changes in Ideal Age at Marriage in Iran” explained that there was an increase in the ideal age of marriage, both for men and women in Iran, even though the ideal marriage age coefficient for women was higher than that of men. “There are different variables that encourage the ideal age for marriage for women, that is the important variable of marital status in 2004 and the religious variable in 2015,” she explained.

Writer: Igih Adisa/Media CPPS UGM  | Language Editor: Basilica Dyah – Rinta Alvionita |

Photo: APA Conference zoom screenshot (4/8)

 

Yogyakarta, CPPS UGM – The case of sexual assault has arisen again in Indonesia. The public has recently been shocked by the news on sexual assault committed by AT (21), the son of a member of the Regional People’s Representative Council in Bekasi, against a minor called PU (15). After being arrested and decided as a suspect, AT said that he will marry the victim because he loves her. The discourse to marry the victim was flatly rejected by D, the victim’s father.

Novi Widyaningrum, a researcher and gender observer at the CPPS UGM, strongly criticized the discourse of the perpetrator to marry the victim. According to her, the discourse of marrying the victim is a form of arrogance based on social class and strong patriarchal culture in Indonesia.

“I’m against it a lot. The victim is only a fifteen-year girl, meaning that she is still a child and thus, it violates the Law on Marriage,” Novi said.

Based on Law No. 16/2019 on Marriage, the minimum age for marriage is 19 years. Marrying the victim whose age is 15 years means doing a forced marriage. In addition to violating the Law on Marriage, this also violates the Law on Child Protection, Human Rights Convention, and Child Rights Convention.

She saw that marrying the victim to the perpetrator means trapping the victim in a lifelong cycle of violence. After getting married, the victim will have a potential to experience multiple forms of violence, such as psychological violence, sexual violence, and it is also possible to experience verbal, physical, and economic violence.

Marrying the victim to the perpetrator also means that the violence is not stopped but is instead legalized through the marriage bond. According to her, the discourse of marrying the victim to the perpetrator since the perpetrator is a close person is also just an imaging and an attempt to avoid legal sanctions for the perpetrator.

“This is a kind of slowly killing the victim. Thankfully, the victim’s parents realized this and rejected the conciliation. The lawyer stated it is an adultery case. This is like a strong example of rape culture and high permissiveness to rape committed by couples. In the end, the solution is conciliation and marriage,” she said.

She added that the ‘mediation’ and ‘conciliation’ attempts made by the community, government institutions, and even the police are evidence that the case of sexual assault is still not seen as a crime, particularly in the case of PU. The perpetrator is the victim’s lover, so such an incident is often considered normal. This way of thinking has a potential to make women more involved in an environment of violence.

Maximum Protection for the Victims & Urgency for Ratification of the Sexual Violence Eradication Bill (RUU PKS)

The case of sexual assault experienced by PU is not the only one that exists in the community, but also the phenomenon of icebergs and things that only raise on the surface that must also occur.

>To protect the victims of sexual assault, Novi explained that there are at least three things that must be performed. First, provide protection and trauma healing to the victims and to ensure that the victims have a safe and comfortable environment so that they can generate self-confidence and live their further life without fear.

“Don’t include the victim in the next cycle of violence, including bullying, because she is also very vulnerable to this kind of actions. People still don’t have much awareness of this kind of case and may take the blame on the victims,” she emphasized.

Second, the perpetrator must be punished according to the law. She has committed multiple crimes. At least there are crimes, i.e., rape, human trafficking, and violence against children. Giving punishment to the perpetrator in accordance with the law will be a good example for the wider community and law enforcement in Indonesia.

Novi also emphasized that the policy makers must strengthen the law enforcement in Indonesia. The laws that are stipulated must be implemented fairly and can be accessed by everyone. “Not because the perpetrator is a person who has political position and power, there attempts to obscure the crime and reduce punishment can be performed,” she exclaimed.

She also added the importance of accelerating the ratification of Sexual Violence Eradication Bill (RUU PKS) which will later become a strong legal basis to protect the victims. It is also emphasized in the RUU PKS that forced marriage is prohibited and is made a criminal act.

Besides, the government must also strengthen some efforts to educate public about violence against women, one of them is to strengthen the education curriculum from primary schools regarding violence prevention and women protection. Respect for women and gender equality must really be emphasized in the world of education.

Another important step to take is to create and share public information on a complaint system that is affordable for women as the victims of violence. The context that the victim is always in a traumatic and weak position (psychologically, socially, and physically) is a major consideration for creating a complaint service that can quickly and accurately be reached by everyone.

Penulis: Nuraini Ika |  Editor Bahasa: Rinta Alvionita  |  Foto: Ilustrasi Kekerasan Seksual Anak (istockphoto) 

Yogyakarta – Apart from being popular with culture and education center, Yogyakarta is a province that is also known for its abundant natural and culinary. Therefore, it is not surprising that this area is one of the most visited tourist destinations, both domestic and foreign tourists, every year. The Department of Tourism of Yogyakarta noted that, before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, the growth of tourist arrivals to Yogyakarta increased by 15.15% from the previous year.

Yogyakarta, with its culinary, has one of the most identical food souvenirs favored by tourists, namely Bakpia. Most of the tourists buy the Bakpia while they are going to come home. Bakpia is sweet bean-filled moon cake-like pastry that is coated with flour and shaped, then baked. Based on its history, Bakpia is a form of acculturation between Chinese and Yogyakarta culture.

In the 1940s, Bakpia was brought by Chinese immigrants who lived in the Pathuk area (Ameer, in Nihayati, 2020). In China, Bakpia is similar to pork-filled cakes. However, since the majority of Indonesians are Muslim and forbidden to eat pork, the Bakpia filling was then replaced with sweet green beans (Eriyanto, 2018). The Chinese-Indonesian families usually enjoy the Bakpia as a family snack (Nihayati, 2020). In 1930, however, there was an economic depression in the Dutch East Indies (now: Indonesia), thus some of these Chinese-Indonesian families sold the Bakpia to increase their income (Nihayati, 2020). As time goes by, many home industries in the 1980’s started to sell Bakpia. This is indicated by the number of Bakpia that are sold under the brand according to the house number of the producer. 1992 was the peak of the rapid development of the Bakpia industry and began to be popular as a typical food souvenir of Yogyakarta.

Bakpia has many flavors over time. The flavors of classic Bakpia (known as Bakpia Jadoel) are green beans and red beans. Meanwhile, the modern Bakpia has more flavors, such as chocolate, cheese, nuts, green tea, coffee, fruits, etc. Currently, there is one modern Bakpia brand named Bakpia Tugu which is very different from that of the Bakpia Jadoel. The modern one is a steamed-mini bun like Bakpia with a filling of green beans, chocolate, cheese, chocolate brownies, and so on, that texture can melt in the mouth. Today’s young people call the Bakpia Tugu “Bakpia Zaman Now”. The Bakpia Zaman Now is no less in demand than the Bakpia Jadoel. Moreover, in one of its stores located in Jalan Kaliurang, there is often a long line of the buyers coming from outside the city who just want to enjoy it. The people carrying grocery bags from the Bakpia Tugu is easy to see at Yogyakarta airports and stations. The Bakpia Tugu has opened six branch stores within three years. It indicates that the innovation is successful and able to attract many tourists.

The phenomenon on typical culinary innovation in Yogyakarta confirms that there is a shift in the Bakpia identity along with the social context that always shows its change. The question that may come up is will the Bakpia Zaman Now shift the position of the Bakpia Jadoel among the typical culinary enthusiasts in Yogyakarta? or will this Bakpia Zaman Now dissolve the historical values inherent in the Bakpia Jadoel?

>An innovation must be interpreted in a positive way. Quoting Robbins and Coulter (2010), innovation is the result of creative ideas into useful products. Therefore, these typical culinary innovation products are creative products of the nation’s generation that must be highly appreciated, especially if they are able to improve the values of tourism sector as well as the regional economy. However, the historical value inherent in the typical culinary riches should not be neglected. In the next few years, there will be many variations on the shape, even the new flavors of Bakpia. Regardless of the shape and flavor of future Bakpia, it is a product of mutual respect among people with different cultures. Therefore, this attitude is what we need to protect and preserve.

So, which Bakpia team are you in? The Bakpia Zaman Now or the Bakpia Jadoel?

REFERENCES:

Dicky Eriyanto, 1310658032 (2018) Bakpia sebagai Salah Satu Identitas Budaya Yogyakarta dalam Penyutradaraan Film Dokumenter “Bakpia” dengan Gaya Ekspository. Undergraduate Thesis, Indonesia Institute of the Arts of Yogyakarta.

Robbins, Stephen P. dan Coulter, Mary. 2010. Tenth Edition Management. Jakarta: Erlangga

Nihayati, L. (2020). Dampak Sosial Perkembangan Bakpia dalam Industri Pariwisata di Pathuk Yogyakarta. Pringgitan, 01(01), 40–47. http://ejournal.stipram.ac.id/index.php/pringgitan/article/view/10

“https://bakpia25.com/sejarah-bakpia-pathok/article/sejarah-bakpia-pathok”>https://Bakpia25.com/sejarah-Bakpia-pathok/article/sejarah-Bakpia-pathok retrieved 30 January 2021

“https://bakpiakukustugu.co.id/”>https://Bakpiakukustugu.co.id/ retrieved 30 January 2021

Statistik Kepariwisataan 2019. (2019).

*Citra Sekarjati, M.P.A. | Research Assistant at CPPS UGM  | Illustrator: M. Affen Irhandi/CPPS UGM

Yokyakarta, CPPS UGM – The Covid-19 pandemic, which first appeared in Wuhan at the end of 2019 and is facing uncertainty to its end, has brought an impact on various aspects. Not only hitting the health sector, but Covid-19 has also torn apart the economy in many countries, including Indonesia.

In the fourth quarter of 2019, the growth of Gross Domestic Product/GDP (Y-on-Y) was still at 4.97. Then, in the first quarter of 2020, during the early days of Covid-19 hitting Indonesia, the GDP (Y-on-Y) fell to 2.97 although it still showed a positive number. In the latest development, the GDP (Y-on-Y) in the second quarter of 2020 has contracted to -5.32 (Official Statistic News No. 64/08/Year XXIII, August 5, 2020).

Based on business fields, the agricultural sector is the only sector that still has positive growth. Meanwhile, based on expenditure, all types of expenditure have also contracted. Imports and exports were the expenditure sectors that experienced the deepest contraction, respectively -16.96% and -11.66%. Economic shocks due to the Covid-19 pandemic that hit almost all countries in the world have resulted in a decline in the prices of many export commodities and the sluggish global economy.

>Government’s expenditure in the second quarter of 2020 contracted to -6.90 due to the slow absorption of budget expenditures. The implementation of budget expenditure had only reached 48% until August 2020. The three ministries with the lowest budget absorption are the Ministry of Transportation (34.3%), the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (41.5%), and the Ministry of Health (43.6%). This prompted President Joko Widodo to give a harsh warning to all ministries to accelerate budget absorption more effectively.

In line with the enactment of the new normal and the relaxation of Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB), some ministries are back on official travel activities to the regions. The activities are annually undertaken by the ministries. However, due to the pandemic condition that cannot be controlled and even the trend of adding cases is increasing, it is not wise to undertake many official trips let alone if the goal is only to accelerate budget absorption. Apart from being contradictory to an attempt to break the chain of the virus, this action also becomes a bad example for the community in responding to an ongoing pandemic.

Some of the costs of official travel can be diverted to programs that can boost household consumption instead of taking a lot of official travel which contracted to -5.51% in the second quarter of 2020. It is obvious that the government has implemented several policies to boost household consumption, such as 1) Maximizing the expansion of beneficiaries of the Family Hope Program (Program Keluarga Harapan/PKH) to 10 million Beneficiary Families (Keluarga Penerima Manfaat/KPM); 2) Changing the duration of PKH distribution to be per month; 3) Increasing the amount of PKH benefits and Non-Cash Food Assistance (Bantuan Pangan Non-Tunai/BPNT); 4) Providing subsidies for electricity costs; 5) Giving Pre-employment Card (Kartu Pra Kerja) program, and more.

In the short term, these programs help to maintain household consumption. However, in the long term, even after the pandemic has passed, there will be problems that must be anticipated, such as the widening inequality in society. The middle-upper class people have experienced a decline in consumption, but it is more temporary. Besides, their financial assets are saved because dollar-denominated assets currently provide good returns, the gold prices have increased, and the savings in foreign currency have increased as a result of the weakening of Indonesian currency.

In short, the middle-upper class of society are in a stable economic condition and are benefiting from the current situation. On the other hand, the lower-middle-class experienced a decrease in consumption as a consequence of reduced or lost income due to the restrictions on activities. Moreover, some of them are also the victims of Termination of Employment (PHK) affected by the efficiency made by the companies after the economic activities have not optimally run. In other words, they are a vulnerable group who will become increasingly poorer if the economic activities and labor requirements are not immediately back to normal.

The government is indeed facing a big dilemma in overcoming the pandemic and saving the economy. This year, the Indonesian state recorded a deficit of IDR 1,039 trillion. Bank Indonesia (BI), like central banks in other countries, is also experiencing a dilemma, helping the government to boost the economy or keeping the Indonesian currency exchange rate from weakening.

A strong rupiah exchange rate is so far combined with high-interest rates or yields as well as the capital to attract portfolio funds from abroad. Like it or not, it helps prop up the country’s foreign exchange and lower the current account deficit, even before the pandemic. However, keeping interest rates high will not help domestic business actors who are currently experiencing a slump. To revive the domestic economy, interest rates must be lowered, thus bank interest costs will also be lower.

Overall, the capital costs that must be incurred by business actors are also cheaper, so the economic activities can be more active and job opportunities will be more open. It is the choice taken by BI. By lowering the interest rates from around 5% to 4% as of July 2020, the government was able to push the economy even stronger. BI’s willingness to help the government is also able to reduce the deficit through burden-sharing mechanisms this year.

By taking government bonds in the primary market worth IDR 397 trillion, the government does not have to bother selling bonds to the market and can pay lower interest rates. This policy carries a high risk because it means that 1) BI will print new rupiah liquidity for the government, which will then weaken the rupiah exchange rate, and 2) BI’s independence as a monetary regulator is diminishing. In the end, these two things will reduce the interest of foreign investors to invest their portfolios in Indonesia.

The choice has been made after all. The government must be able to account for these choices and the consequences that may occur. In the meantime, foreign investment may not be as expected due to low-interest rates. In practical terms, the domestic economy must be boosted more. The new liquidity (new money) printed by Bank Indonesia (BI) in the amount of IDR 397 trillion as a result of the burden-sharing mechanism must be accountable for its use by the government.

Government programs, especially the national economic recovery program financed from this liquidity, must be effectively implemented to improve the economy of the people and the state. It is expected that this liquidity will be fruitless and cause new problems in the future. If the government wants to maintain global public confidence to give their investment in Indonesia, they need to reconsider its plans to request financial assistance from BI until 2022 and revise several regulations that have the potential to cut BI’s authority and independence.

The global public is doubt about investing its portfolio in Indonesia since the handling of Covid-19 in Indonesia is poor, as well as the burden-sharing policy made by the government and BI. Such doubt should not be compounded by unsettling issues regarding BI’s financing plans until 2022 and the revision of BI regulations. Although it is uncertain that it will be undertaken, its impact on Indonesia in the eyes of the global economy must be taken into account.

*Dyah Kartika, S.Si, M.Ec.Dev | Research Assistant at Center for Population and Policy Studies UGM | Illustration: M. Affen Irhandi/PSKKUGM

 

 

 

 

Yogyakarta, CPPS UGM – The Clean and Healthy Behavior (Bahasa Indonesia: Perilaku Hidup Bersih dan Sehat/PHBS) movement is currently being promoted as the way to prevent society from COVID-19. The world has struggled t overcame the COVID-19 for more than half a year and WHO has even declared the COVID-19 a global pandemic since March 11, 2020. The term pandemic refers to a disease that spreads to many people in several countries at the same time. The number of the spread of COVID-19 has significantly increased and globally. As long as the vaccine has not been found, the efforts to reduce the spread and prevention of COVID-19 are to implement the PHBS.

PHBS: One of the Strategies to Fight COVID-19

PHBS is one of the social engineering strategies initiated by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia which aims to make the members of the community as much as possible as the agents of change to be able to improve the quality of daily behavior to have a clean and healthy lifestyle. The policy regarding PHBS is regulated in the Regulation of Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia Number 2269/Menkes/Per/XI/2011 concerning Guidelines for the Development of Clean and Healthy Behavior. PHBS is a set of behaviors practiced based on self-awareness and continuously or routinely done, so it becomes character learning to achieve the highest health status. The goal of PHBS was initially to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, such as diarrhea and stunting. However, it is currently being encouraged again to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The PHBS structure needs to be applied in several elements which are part of the activity places in everyday life, such as homes, schools, workplaces, health facilities, and public places. If the PHBS is applied in everyday life, it is expected that this will increase human’s body endurance as one of the keys to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. One of the important indicators in PHBS is washing hands with soap (hereinafter referred to as Cuci Tangan Pakai Sabun/CTPS) which has been proven to be very important in preventing infectious diseases, such as transmission of COVID-19. This is revealed by White, et al. (2020) in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 227 (2020) 113512.

Regarding the prevention of COVID-19 in March 2020, the Ministry of Health has issued Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of COVID-19 through the Decree of the Minister of Health Number HK.01.07/MENKES/328/2020 concerning Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of COVID-19; one of the ways is the CTPS movement in addition to other efforts, such as the use of masks and physical distancing. Proper handwashing should use soap and running water for optimal prevention.

However, the effectiveness of promoting a clean and healthy life to change the community’s behavior, especially washing hands with soap as a habit, remains a challenge. A study conducted by CPPS UGM in 2013 in collaboration with Plan International in Central Java, West Nusa Tenggara, and East Nusa Tenggara showed that washing hands using soap has not become a culture in society. In general, they do not practice CTPS, e.g. before and after eating. The handwashing movement has been introduced since early education through the PHBS program in schools, but in fact, many wash their hands improperly and incorrectly, even many do not wash their hands with soap (Kompas, July 20, 2020).

The Pandemic “Forces” the Change in Community’s Behavior

Changing people’s behavior to live clean and healthy is not an easy matter. A study conducted by Sinaga et al. (2005) in the JMPK Journal Vol. 08:02 published in June 2005 revealed that it takes the role of influential figures in society to get people used to practice PHBS. CTPS is a simple clean and healthy lifestyle, the most cost-effective health intervention since it does not require sophisticated equipment and can be done anywhere and anytime. By implementing CTPS, we can prevent the transmission of gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases. However, getting people used to wash their hands is quite difficult. Lack of adequate facilities and soap in poor areas is one reason this habit is difficult to implement. In developing countries, there are only 27 percent of the population has access to these facilities. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF estimate that about three billion people in the world do not have hand wash facilities at home (BBC News, April 27, 2020).

People’s behavior changes are indispensable for public health interventions. However, in their article published in the BMC Public Health Journal (2020) 20: 154, Czerniewska and White (2020) explained that public health interventions have once experienced a status quo because it was quite difficult to educate people to understand the health risks and benefits of behavior changes. The momentum of COVID-19 provides a good opportunity to promote clean living habits in national programs related to PHBS. The COVID-19 pandemic forces society to change rapidly. This pandemic is a strong motivating factor for society to improve their hygiene.

Washing hands with soap habit have currently become a massive new culture for the community. Almost all public facilities provide CTPS facilities, even some public facilities require visitors to wash their hands before entering the facility. In this pandemic situation, CTPS has finally become a daily routine and even an obligation. The threat of the widespread and easy attaching viruses to various types of objects makes CTPS a solution to kill them.

The CTPS habit needs to be applied in the family from an early age. Family is the key to changing behavior. The growing awareness of CTPS as a new culture also needs to be maintained. Behavior changes in children to get used to practicing CTPS can be done in a family environment. Children’s behavior can be formed from an early age so that they can do this habit until they are adults. The experience during this pandemic will make them get used to doing CTPS in the future. After the pandemic ends, it is hoped that CTPS will continue to be practiced if this habit has become the culture of the community.[]

*Sri Purwatiningsih, S.Si.,M.Kes | Researcher at Center for Population and Policy Studies UGM | illustration: Affen Irhandi/PSKK UGM

Yogyakarta – Center for Population and Policy Studies (CPPS) UGM in collaboration with The National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (TNP2K) held an online seminar “Vulnerable Groups and COVID-19 in Indonesia” on Wednesday, July 27, 2020 at 9.30-12 a.m.

The Indonesia Statistics Agency recorded the poverty rate as of March 2020 increased to 26.42 million people. Regarding this position, the percentage of poor people also rose to 9.78 percent as of March 2020.

The increase in poverty rate reached 1.28 million people from the previous rate, 25.14 million people compared to the rate as of March 2019. The percentage of poor people also rose 0.37 percent from March 2019, which was only 9.41 percent.

This is in line with the statement of the head of Yogyakarta Development Planning Agency, Budi Wibowo, when he stood as a speaker at the CPPS UGM seminar on Thursday (29/07/2020). He said that the poverty rate in Yogyakarta during the COVID-19 pandemic has increased. The increase as of March 2020 reached 12.28 percent, rose 0.84 percent from September 2019 (i.e. 11.44 percent).

According to him, the regional government should make several efforts to overcome this economic problem, such as refocusing and reallocating the local budget, e.g. accelerating changes in the allocation of the local budget, stopping the entire process of procurement of goods or services that do not yet have a contract as of 3 April 2020, except for the operation of Regional Apparatus Organization, goods sourced from privileged funds, and the operation and maintenance of basic or public services.

“We (the local government) have opened several tourist destinations and we will try even more tightly to implement them in the tourist destinations because there are thousands of MSMEs behind those tourist destinations. Fifty-one thousand MSMEs in Yogyakarta are engineering goods for economic growth,” he emphasized.

Responding to the economic problems during COVID-19, the head of CPPS UGM, Agus Joko Pitoyo stressed the impact of COVID-19 on the informal sector. He explained that the informal sector is important to discuss since it dominates the workforce structure in Indonesia.

“More than 70 million workers work in the informal sector. There are high number of workers working in this sector because it tends to be more easily obtained by the workforce,” he said.

The informal sector during the COVID-19 pandemic also tends not to be sustainable. This is at least marked from the disruption of production, distribution, and consumption to a decrease in income. The downturn is also due to restrictions on social activities that cause disruption to economic activities (production, distribution, and consumption) and product supply chain.

The Indonesia Statistics Agency data shows that 70.53 percent of the respondents from the low-income group (<1.8 million) stated that they experienced an income decrease. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic also caused an increase in spending for 56 percent of respondents, most of them experienced an increase of between 26-50 percent. Most of the increase occurred in food expenditure (51 percent) and this is possible due to the existence of Work from Home (WFH) and Study from Home (SFH).

Survey of CPPS UGM: The Impacts on Informal Workers

Agus Joko Pitoyo delivered the results of the initial survey of CPPS UGM related to the impacts of COVID-19 on informal workers. The survey was attended by 64 informal workers in Yogyakarta and conducted in early July and was still going on until this seminar was held. The participating respondents consist of traders, street workers, building construction workers, online transportation drivers, and artists. The results of this survey show that COVID-19 has impacts on income decline, job loss, consumer decline, and business closure.

The results indicate that 31.3 percent of the respondents stated that they began to feel the impact of the pandemic since early April 2020. This goes after the implementation of social restrictions by the government.

However, the decrease in income and the difficulties during the pandemic did not encourage most informal workers to switch their professions due to the low competency and the perception that there are no professions that can offer better conditions. 23.4 percent of the informal workers who change their professions tended to switch to online business ventures. Even poor working conditions due to COVID-19 did not trigger the desire for 46.9 percent of respondents to change their professions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, 35 percent are still wavering over conditions in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic on the professions they currently own. Another 17 percent have the desire to switch their professions.

Also, according to Joko, COVID-19 also affected street workers in the city of Yogyakarta. The majority of workers and street workers experienced a decrease in income to > 50 percent due to social restrictions and schools and office closure.

“There are differences in the impacts of COVID-19 on workers and street vendors. In workers, COVID-19 causes a decrease in working hours and even layoffs. However, during COVID-19, the number of working hours in street workers had increased by 2-3 hours due to waiting for customers and to maintain the revenue,” Joko explained.

“The informal sector has the potentials to have a faster recovery if the community activities are reopened, but still performed on a small scale of recovery. It needs special treatment, for example using economic stimulus, so the recovery process can optimally run,” he concluded.

The coordinator of TNP2K’s social protection policy, Dyah Larasati, highlighted another vulnerable group affected during COVID-19, i.e. people with disabilities. It is estimated that 15 percent of the world’s population has a disability. One in five women will experience a disability condition in their lifetime and one in 10 children have disabilities. Meanwhile, around nine percent (23.3 million people) in Indonesia have disabilities.

 “Disability and poverty in Indonesia have a strong correlation. The risk will be greater for disability groups during a pandemic. If we consider the additional costs required by people with disabilities, the poverty rate will significantly increase,” she said.

She conveyed that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased risks and vulnerabilities directly or indirectly in people with disabilities, such as 1) The increase in limited mobility due to “stay at home” policy, either on recommendation or mandate or obligation and it caused the difficulties in accessing basic services, such as health and education services; 2) Limited or difficult access to information and health service facilities, social protection, and other related services; 3) The possibility of reduced or limited income support from other family members because they may also be affected by this pandemic; 4) The increase in social exclusion and isolation which can lead to depression, fear, and helplessness, especially because the people with disabilities and the elderly have a higher possibility of vulnerable medical conditions or congenital diseases, making them more susceptible to these diseases; and 5) Less than three percent of people with disabilities received social assistance through the ASPD and PKH Programs. Limited access to social protection makes them more vulnerable to survive.

Although the risks and vulnerabilities of people with disabilities due to the pandemic are numerous, studies, or data related to the increased vulnerability of people with disabilities during the pandemic are very limited.

“Data and evidence related to increased risk due to the COVID-19 pandemic are very limited to date and can only be found in high-income countries (HICs). Data from low and middle-income countries (Low and Middle-Income Countries/LMICs) is very limited,” she emphasized.

The Study on the Economic Impact of COVID-19 on People with Disabilities in Indonesia by Jaringan Organisasi Penyandang Disabilities (Network of People with Disabilities Organization) on April 2020 showed that 87 percent of workers experience a decrease in income and most of them experience a drastic decline (50-80 percent of income).

The economic vulnerability of people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic is also high. 69 percent of the respondents are likely to be poorer or getting poorer due to a combination of low income and a high decrease in income due to the pandemic. 41 percent of them (very vulnerable) is almost certainly below the poverty line and 28 percent (vulnerable) are below or very close to the poverty line.

To help solving this problem, Dyah suggested the policymakers expand the scope and ensure the appropriateness of the value of social protection benefits, ensure inclusive, comprehensive and integrated social protection, and create a simple registration process.

COVID-19 and Women Marginalization

Senior researcher and gender expert at CPPS UGM, Dewi Haryani Susilastuti, highlighted the marginalization of women in the midst of COVID-19. Annual Records Infographic of the National Commission on Violence against Women 2020 show that there are 14,719 cases of violence against women according to their domains; the personal sphere of 75.4 percent (11,105 cases), the community sphere of 24.4 percent (3,602 cases), and the state sphere of 0.08 percent (12 cases). The highest one is physical violence which reaches 5,548 cases with 4,783 happen in the personal domain and 765 cases happen in the community domain.

“The violence against women tends to increase during the pandemic, but the increase in the level of violence against women is not solely due to the pandemic because it has already existed before,” she said.

Responding to the issue of the impact of COVID-19 on the informal sector, she presented data from the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection and Statistics Agency 2018 which showed that 61.37 percent of women work in the informal sector, while 23.31 percent are family workers.

Besides, there is a marginalization in women during the pandemic due to several factors, such as a lack of critical understanding of the development of gender construction in Indonesia and state ibuism. “We can see what happened in the history during the Suharto’s government, there was something called state ibuism, the state definition or state construction of the ideal woman. Based on state ibuism, the ideal woman is one who is domesticated and highly dedicated to her husband, family, and country. That’s why they sacrifice their lives for the sake of their husband, family, and country without expecting anything personal,” she explained.

According to her, after the Suharto’s government, there was indeed a change of mind towards women, but it cannot be denied that the state ibuism was reproduced in a relatively young society even in the order of policymakers, so the different effects of COVID-19 for men and women are not considered the problem has already been in line with the existing gender construction.

She conveyed that the issue of marginalized women during the pandemic is also due to the lack of representation of social science thinking in responding to the pandemic. “The COVID-19 pandemic is seen more from a health perspective. We can see it at journals, especially those written in the field of health, there are two repeated terms, Pharmaceutical Intervention (vaccine) and Non-Pharmaceutical Intervention. Meanwhile, there is no reflective cultural discussion about context, about structural inequality,” she highlighted. 

She concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed structural inequalities that place women in unfavorable economic, social, and political positions, while the government’s insensitive responses to gender have made the position of women worse off. “If we use the language of war, women are then like collateral damage in the fight against COVID-19,” she concluded.

Writer: Nuraini Ika |  Language Editor: Rinta Alvionita  |  Photo: Alexs_foto (pixabay.com)

Note: The full recording of the seminar can be watched on the CPPS UGM and TNP2K YouTube channel.

 

Yogyakarta, CPPS UGM – The statement of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) in 2014 about Indonesia’s emergency of sexual violence is not without a basis. As an independent state institution in upholding Indonesia’s human rights, the National Women’s Commission has an adequate database of various acts of violence experienced by women, even they noted an increase in cases by time. So, why has the Sexual Violence Eradication Bill that has been proposed to the National Legislation Program of the House of Representative (Prolegnas DPR RI) since 2015 not been passed yet to date? What is the core problem and is there any solution?

The Polemic on Sexual Violence Eradication Bill: Feminist vs Conservative Religion

The polemic on the Sexual Violence Eradication Bill that occurred in several sessions of the House of Representative was a discussion of the terms and types of sexual violence. Supporting political parties (i.e. PDIP, PKB, and Nasdem) agreed to the use of the terms for sexual violence which include 9 (nine) types (i.e. sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, forced contraception, forced abortion, rape, forced marriage, forced prostitution, sexual slavery, and sexual torture), while the PKS fraction rejected it by proposing other terms, namely sexual crimes which include 5 (five) types (i.e. rape, sexual torture, sexual misconduct, children inclusion in sexual acts, and incest). PKS believed that the term sexual crime is more indicative to be able to convict perpetrators of the sexual crimes and sexual deviation or norms of decency. On the other hand, the National Commission on Violence Against Women responded to the PKS opinion by emphasizing that violence involves the act of destroying someone whose meaning is broader than criminal acts. Besides, the legal context of sexual violence cannot meet with the context of sexual deviation or norms of decency.

Having said beyond the terms and types of sexual violence, the polemic deeply reflects the clash of worldviews between the pros (from the feminist group) and the cons (from the conservative religious group). For the conservative religious group, the Sexual Violence Eradication Bill is considered to “bring” the spirit of liberalism and feminism which are both not in line with religion (Islam) and Pancasila. In this case, the Sexual Violence Eradication Bill is considered to affirm an adultery behavior, abortion, prostitution, and LGBT. They are also worried about over-criminalization of the perpetrators because, before the existence of the Sexual Violence Eradication Bill, there were several related laws with the same spirit, including Criminal Code (KUHP), Domestic Violence Eradication (PKDRT) Act, Human Trafficking Eradication (PTPO) Act, and Child Protection Act. In summary, religious values are a source of knowledge for the conservative religious group to rationalize the Sexual Violence Eradication Bill. This perspective is, of course, hard to be accepted by the feminist group who have a source of knowledge of the Sexual Violence Eradication Bill on women’s experiences of oppression in the context of a universal patriarchal society. For the feminist group, this objective reality should be the most fundamental consideration for drafting a law that can protect women from any acts of violence, not by considering the narrow-viewed morality and moral norms. If the feminist group and conservative religious group do have different intrinsic knowledge, is it still possible for them to work together to find common ground in the polemic of the Sexual Violence Eradication Bill?

Feminist vs Conservative Religion: Frenemies?

Nancy Whittier, the author of a book “Frenemies: Feminist, Conservative, and Sexual Violence” (2008), has conducted a study on feminist and conservative behavior, each of them has a different perspective on pornography, sexual violence against children and Sexual Violence Against Women Act, but both interact with one another, as well as with the US federal government. The results of her study confirm that the interaction model that is built between feminists and conservatives is frenemies (friends but opponents), not an alliance nor opposition, but rather “working together” to achieve a common goal. In the polemic on Sexual Violence Eradication Bill, it is the interaction model of frenemies that is built between the feminist group (the National Commission on Violence Against Women and Indonesia’s Women Activist Network) supported by PDIP, PKB, and Nasdem fraction, and the conservative religion group (PKS fraction) supported by some Islamic-political parties and Islamic da’wah movement. In political interaction, the feminist group makes a framing of the Sexual Violence Eradication Bill in the context of women’s subordination as the result of unequal power relations in society. Meanwhile, the conservative religious group sometimes borrows the feminist group’s frame to show their impact on the norms of decency and family life. Therefore, both groups have different points of attention towards sexual violence act; while the feminist group identifies the types of sexual violence as a form of human rights violence, conservative religious group talks about sexual violence while referring to the ethics and morality of religion. Although these two groups have different perspectives on the meaning of sexual violence, they agree that the incidence of violence against women is increasing and worrying, so they both share the same struggle by providing protection rights for women as the victims of violence. Now, how can this same goal bring these two polemic groups together?

The push and pull of the Sexual Violence Eradication Bill in the House of Representative, which lasted for almost 5 (five) years, should be now reflected again. We need to learn from the success of the PKDRT Act, the impasse of the Pornography Act, and other legislative processes that are rarely free from polemics. Why is the debate getting tougher? Which points of understanding clash and how can they be negotiated? The frenemies’ interaction model is indeed not ideal and tends to be ambiguous. If one group insists on following the views of the other group, both political reputations and ideological beliefs are at stake. Thus, there is no other way than each of them to try to think more flexibly. The choice of language that can accommodate different understandings is important to make an agreement. However, the most important of all is to get rid of the ego and strengthen the awareness that each is fighting for the same thing named the right of protection for the victims of sexual violence, especially for women.

*Basilica Dyah Putranti, PhD. Cand | Researcher & Coordinator of Media Center for Population and Policy Studies Universitas Gadjah Mada | illustration: Affen Irhandi/PSKK UGM

 

Yogyakarta – Center for Population and Policy Studies (CPPS) UGM held a web seminar (webinar) “Those who are Forgotten: Elderly and COVID-19” on Friday, 5 June 2020 at 9 -11 a.m.

The elderly population in Indonesia in 2019 reached 9.60 percent or around 25.66 million people. This condition shows that Indonesia is transitioning to aging population because the percentage of population of people aged 60 years and over reaches more than 7 percent of the total population (Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics, 2019).

It was also recorded in 2019 that the dependency ratio of the Indonesian elderly was 15.01 percent. It means that every 100 people of productive age population (aged 15-59 years) must bear 15 elderly. If this is balanced with the ability of elderly that are independent, have good quality, and not a burden on society, then the aging population will have a positive effect on national development.

In the era of COVID-19, the elderly population (aged 60 years and over) are more vulnerable to be transmitted by the virus. Johns Hopkins Medicine data shows that the mortality rate of the elderly due to COVID-19 is the highest in the world at 4.47 percent. 40 percent of the deaths due to COVID-19 in Indonesia happens in elderly.

Lecturer of Social Development and Welfare of Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM and researcher at CPPS UGM, Dr. Mulyadi Sumarto as a speaker in the seminar emphasized that an increase in social protection schemes for the Indonesian elderly is highly needed. He explained that only about 13.4 percent of the elderly received social protection. In detail, 11.13 percent are civil servant retirees, 1.5 percent are military retirees, 0.01 percent receiving benefits for old age, 0.13 percent receiving PKH, and 0.64 percent are from the ASLUT program (Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics, 2019).

Meanwhile, according to the status of the elderly, Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics 2019 data noted that 41 percent of the elderly lived with three generations, 27 percent with their families, 20 percent with spouses, another 3 percent, and 9 percent lived alone. “Most of the elderly live together with three generations (the elderly themselves, their children, and grandchildren). We can imagine how come they live together in one house. There are three generations. This is a problem we can see on how uncomfortable their life is (elderly),” he said.

Regarding social protection of the elderly during COVID-19, the government initiated some Social Security Network programs for COVID-19 handling, such as pre-employment cards (kartu prakerja), social assistance cash (bansos), direct cash assistance (BLT) for village funds, family expectation program (PKH), basic food programs, Jabodetabek basic food aid (presidential assistance), and electricity assistance. “There is a social security network created by the government in the COVID-19 era, but from those assistance, where are the social rights of the elderly? There is a tendency that our country ‘somewhat’ pays less attention to the interests of the elderly in the midst of COVID-19. There is one program (including the elderly), that is, the family expectation program. Yet there is no special program for the elderly in the era of COVID-19,” he concluded.

The Role of Women in Elderly Care

Dr. Iwu Dwisetyani Utomo, a fellow at school of demography, Australian National University as another speaker in this webinar highlighted other matters relating to care for the elderly. Through a research conducted in 10 villages in Indonesia, she and her research team found that women have the greatest role in caring for the elderly. “Men also play a role in elderly care, but women have a greater one,” she said.

She then explained that there are three types of elderly care; traditional female care, traditional male care, and gender-neutral care. In traditional female care, she explained how women play a key role in doing household works and care for the elderly. Traditional male care is an elderly care done by men by providing financial and managerial assistance for the elderly, while gender neutral care is done in the form of general assistance, such as transportation facilities and assistance for elderly’s shopping.

Based on data from her research, she emphasized, “The point is that if the elderly is healthy, then more than 30 percent can do their own activities, but the first to help is a husband or wife, then a daughter. Girls have a big role to play, except in financial matters. When elderly becomes ill, then the husband or wife no longer gives care, but it should be taken over by the daughter,” she said.

This is a challenge, because as we all know, girls play the most key role in elderly care. This is a problem when girls want to work. It would be a better way if the government could increase the budget for the elderly,” she concluded.

Author: Nuraini Ika |  Language Editor: Rinta Alvionita  |  Photo: Alex (pixabay.com)

 

 

 

 

Yogyakarta – Center for Population and Policy Studies (CPPS) UGM held a web seminar (webinar) titled “Scrutinizing Physical Distancing Policy on COVID-19” on Thursday, May 14, 2020 at 10.00-12.00 a.m.

The transmission pattern of COVID-19 following the exponential rate forces the public to implement physical distancing and even many countries then issued full lockdown or partial lockdown policy to reduce the trend of pandemic transmission. Indonesia started implementing large-scale social restriction (Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar/PSBB) policy from April 7, 2020.

Dr. Hakimul Ikwan, a lecturer at Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM and researcher at CPPS UGM said that all countries are currently affected by COVID-19, including the so-called most modern and ‘superior’ countries, such as America, but not all countries have experienced the downturn, e.g. Taiwan and Vietnam.

Even though the current situation (physical distancing) forces the community to be physically distant, the community should also not be emotionally distant because everyone is facing the same problem called COVID-19. However, according to him, there is a strong indication that there will be a growing division of emotional closeness in Indonesia.

Hakim highlighted that the downturn in America occurred, one of them is because of a loss of public trust (distrust) to the leaders of the country, e.g. there was an extraordinary political divide between supporters of the republic and democrats. Meanwhile, the opposite condition happened in Taiwan and Vietnam, which carried out a “remote smart” system. Taiwan did not even hesitate to cut its relationship with China despite their strong ties. The two countries had successfully learned from Hong Kong that did not open the data when the corona virus began to spread.

“Indonesia is currently standing on the brink of distrust because, in one hand, it has a pre-condition of America (disintegration), but on the other hand it does not have Taiwanese and Vietnamese anti-bodies (smartly distant). The government should learn from Taiwan and Vietnam and build public trust,” he said.

Based on the three main pillars of social and social welfare, such as state responsibility, mandatory contributions, and voluntary or voluntarism, Hakim marked that the remaining pillar that provides a ray of hope to prevent emotional divisions in society is the third pillar, voluntary (voluntarism) or social solidarity.

The results of the CPPS UGM survey (2020) conducted online showed that 80 percent of the community is willing to make donations in the form of basic necessities and 76.2 percent said they would donate in the form of money. 34.2 percent are willing to directly give the donation to recipients, 24.7 percent through institutions or third parties, 22.2 percent through online donations, 18.9 percent do not apply, and 22.2 percent said they would do online donation.Chairperson of MUI DIY at department of HR, culture, and art as well as lecturer at UIN Sunan Kalijaga, Dr. Tulus Mustofa explained that Islam is also taught to teach the importance of cultivating an attitude of solidarity in the face of a pandemic. “First of all, building solidarity is very important because whatever we design, as a people or nation, is difficult to achieve if the people or nation are not solid. An outbreak is not only seen as a disaster, but also the opportunity for charity to help others, as well as a part to keep the disaster away,” he said.

Policy Communications in the Era of COVID-19

A lecturer at Faculty of Social Sciences and Politics UGM and Head of Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies, Prof. Hermin Indah Wahyu explained that the novelty character of the corona virus makes the information environment uncertain, therefore the communication strategy must be very precise and intended to the right people as well.

“In the case of a pandemic, preventing the spread of escalation of transmission is an important keyword, so the choice of which method will be the success or failure of a country to get out of the struggle against the COVID-19,” she said.

The quality of public communication (in Indonesia) in the face of a pandemic, according to her, at least experiences several problems, such as, the exposure of strategies by relevant parties with no evidence-based policy, the interpenetration communication failure, and the absence of communication in a large scenario that become the basic strategy of the war against COVID-19.

Regarding the choice of intervention efforts to reduce the spread of the virus, the community needs to be invited to understand what is being faced as well as how the choice of strategies will contribute to reducing escalation. The role of epidemic experts is very important to provide a database that guides the government’s actions.

“However, what happened in Indonesia is we are shocked because of the unclear choice of policy directions. The epidemic experts should have a strong stage because they are experts. However, Indonesian epidemic experts do not even have a stage at all,” she added.

Meanwhile, the interpenetration communication failure is marked by the dominance of certain internal systems in responding to crises, such as COVID-19. “For example, corona in the transportation system filter, corona in the economic system filter, corona in the legal system filter,” she emphasized.

In addition, according to her, there is too much resonance or too many branches of issues that had been echoed by the stakeholders and all the systems expressed their views in accordance with the character of their internal system functions, so they were far from the main problem of the corona pandemic, i.e. health.

“Public discourse about PSBB is filtered by many systems, so it is difficult to avoid discourse conflicts that are very potential to occur,” she explained. Also, there is no communication in a large scenario that is the basic strategy against the corona virus, so it is difficult for the public to imagine what phase Indonesia is currently in (normal, critical, or sloping)?

“The latest data are updated by the Ministry of Health spokesperson every day, but what is meant by such information cannot be captured in the framework of macro strategies. Coordination by the president and staff, and the task force handling COVID-19 by BNPB has more or less the same color of information. Ideally, the president gives a more macro-substantive view of driving the coordination of various elements,” she said.

“A very fragmented portrait of policy communication is difficult to be able to imagine the big depiction like what is currently in the minds of the public: uncertain, equivocality,” she concluded.

Here is the link for the seminar material: download

Author: Nuraini Ika dan Nurul Widia |  Language Editor: Rinta Alvionita  |  Photo: Ramlon (pixabay.com)