Presidential Staffer Calls for COVID-19 Vaccination for Persons with Disabilities in E. Java
Presidential Special Staffer Angkie Yudistia meets with Deputy Governor of East Java Emil Dardak, at Grahadi Building, Surabaya, East Java Province, Monday (14/6). (Photo by: PR of Cabinet Secretariat/Rahmat)
Presidential Special Staffer Angkie Yudistia, on Monday (14/6), met with Deputy Governor of East Java Emil Dardak to discuss the implementation of COVID-19 vaccination for persons with disabilities, at Grahadi Building, Surabaya, East Java Province.
“We have discussed several points during the meeting, namely regarding vaccination priority for persons with disabilities in East Java and economic recovery measures so that they can survive amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” Angkie said in a press statement after the meeting.
According to Angkie, her working visit aims to build synergies between the Central Government and the regional government in fulfilling the rights of persons with disabilities in accordance with existing policies.
“As the Presidential Staffer, I would like to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation to Deputy Governor of East Java for receiving our visit in terms of building synergies as directed by the President regarding persons with disabilities,” she said.
For the record, over the course of 2019 and 2020, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has ratified seven Government Regulations (PP) and two Presidential Regulations (Perpres) as implementing regulations of Law Number 8 of 2019.
In that regard, Angkie said that the President has given directives so that the regulations can be implemented properly in accordance with the autonomy of respective regions to provide benefit for persons with disabilities.
“We seek support from East Java Provincial Government for the establishment of the National Disability Commission based on the mandate of Law Number 8 of 2018 and Presidential Regulation Number 68 of 2020 that insyaAllah, will be inaugurated by the President in December this year,” Angkie said.
Echoing a similar sentiment, Deputy Governor of East Java Emil Dardak said that the Provincial Government is committed to prioritizing vaccination for persons with disabilities. The commitment is based on a Circular of Ministry of Health that aims to prioritize vaccination for the elderly and persons with disabilities.
“Clearly, the vaccination is a priority program. We will push forward the vaccination drive given approximately only 26 percent of the elderly who have been vaccinated,” Emil said.
Regarding the implementation of policies on persons with disabilities, Emil said that the Provincial Government will immediately adjust the existing regional regulations (Perda) with Law Number 6 of 2016 and its derivative rules, adding that the current regional regulation was issued in 2013 or before the issuance of Law Number 6 of 2016.
“This will be our duty. We must immediately ensure that the policy is intertwined. However, in Nawa Bhakti Satya (Nine Work Promises of East Java Provincial Government), we have ‘Empowered East Java’. The Governor is committed that the development of East Java must be inclusive,” he said.
In realizing this commitment, he added, cooperation and participation of various elements is pivotal. For instance, the Government has its service units and programs, while the Legislation Agency has the formulation of regulations that favor persons with disabilities.
“We’d like to make all measures more integrated and we will continually synergize with the office of the Presidential Staffer so that East Java can implement the mandate of the laws and government regulations as well as this Presidential Regulation,” he said.
For the record, as of 2019, data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) shows that there are more than 30 million persons with disabilities in Indonesia with 4.9 million people living in East Java province. (TGH/UN) (RIF/MUR)
