Be Firm But Polite, President Jokowi Tells Law Enforcement Personnel

President Jokowi. Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has reminded law enforcement personnel to be “firm but polite” in implementing policies of the emergency activity restrictions (emergency PPKM).

“I order the Police and, I order Minister of Home Affairs to urge regional governments, not to be harsh and rude, [but to be] firm and polite. During the dissemination of the policy, law enforcement personnel may also distribute staple food to the public,” the President said during an online Limited Cabinet Meeting, Friday (16/07).

According to the President, a number of incidents that occurred in some regions, including the beating of a shop owner by the Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) personnel, should not happen again.

The President also ordered relevant stakeholders to evaluate restrictions on the people mobility through roadblocks.

Based on the President’s review, a number of roads still look crowded in the morning and during the night.

“We have blocked some roads. However, when I inspected the roads at night and this morning, including in Pulo Gadung, I saw it was still relatively crowded. Last night I went to a village and it was very crowded. We need to evaluate the restrictions policy and see whether it is effective in reducing cases or not. Currently many families contracted (COVID-19) and we may find other strategies to solve the problem,” the President explained.

The Head of State also called for a more detailed study on the effectiveness of the road blocks, adding that maintaining discipline in observing health protocols, especially wearing a face mask, is the key to controlling COVID-19 cases.

“Family clusters have emerged and the key is maintaining discipline in observing health protocols, especially wearing a face mask. I have ordered the National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) to redouble efforts on matters related to distributing face masks and campaigns on mask wearing,” he remarked. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat/UN) (RI/EP)