Pandemic and Political Ethics

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA

The police wear a corona virus shaped helmet when checking the body temperature of a motorcycle rider. This was done in the context of socializing the use of masks to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak in the Sawahan Market, Bangsal District, Mojokerto Regency, East Java, onWednesday (8/4/2020).

"The pandemic is political. While COVID-19 is essentially a public health crisis with massive economic effects, political decisions facilitated the spread of the virus .... ….”(Marie-Eve Desrosiers & Philippe Lagasse, ”Appreciating the Politics of Pandemic”, May 8, 2020)

The COVID-19 outbreak caused by the new coronavirus with all its massive and bitter effects on many citizens will last for a long time in the country. Although there has been a decline in the rate of new confirmed cases and deaths, disruption and chaos in various fields of life in the country will continue in the years to come.

During the outbreak, people can witness various violations of political ethics that are not only unethical, but also violate public propriety.

The disruption caused by the outbreak will also persist in the political and governmental spheres. During the outbreak, people can witness various violations of political ethics that are not only unethical, but also violate public propriety.

In that context, during the COVID-19 outbreak, since early March, the people have witnessed various forms of political and government confusion not only at the national level but also at the provincial and city/district levels. There is no leadership that can be relied on with sincerity.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Rohmah, 30, shows the cash assistance she received at the Bogor Post Office in West Java on Wednesday (13/5/2020).

There is confusion in policy; the policy made by one minister collides with another minister’s. The policy made by certain minister is not in line with the measures taken by the chairman of the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, who is directly responsible for dealing with COVID-19.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo banned residents from traveling to their hometowns for the upcoming Idul Fitri. Shortly thereafter, Maritime Affairs and Investment Coordinating Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said the annual mudik (exodus) ahead of Idul Fitri was not prohibited. The chairman of the COVID-19 Task Force, Doni Monardo stressed “mudik” was prohibited. However, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi decided to reopen public transportation for certain purposes. Doni emphasized: "Mudik remains prohibited."

Also read: President Jokowi Calls on Residents to Register for Social Aid

The reopening of public transportation is part of the efforts to revive the economy as President Jokowi wants. Even though some high-ranking officials have denied the relaxation of the social restrictions, the public is still questioning it because there is no convincing sign of a decline in COVID-19 cases. The easing of restrictions could encourage residents to join the mudik.

Still about mudik, Jokowi has asked people to travel to their hometowns at another time. For this reason, the President plans to shift the two-day collective leave days during Idul Fitri to the year-end. But, the President may combine them with the Idul Adha public holiday on Friday, July 31.

Kompas/Wawan H Prabowo

A banner containing suggestions not going home on Jalan Gelora, Gelora Village, Tanah Abang District, Central Jakarta, on Thursday (23/4/2020).

With such contradicting policies and statements, which ones should citizens follow? Confusing. A senior Kompas journalist, Budiman Tanuredjo, wrote a column titled "Sinyal Saling Silang” (signals disrupting each other), when discussing the chaos of communication and information among high-ranking officials (Kompas, 9/5).

Contradicting policies are confusing the public: they complain to their informal leaders. As a result, 32 branches of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) across the country have issued a joint statement asking President Jokowi to revoke the Transportation Ministry’s policy to ease restrictions on public transportation (May 8 2020).

The government must guarantee that there will be no new infections.

In the statement, the MUI regional branches said that the Transportation Ministry’s policy to ease restrictions on public transportation could only be implemented when COVID-19 was completely under control. The government must guarantee that there will be no new infections.

Policy and praxis contradictions among government officials are not limited to mudik and transportation issues. Contradictions are also seen in relation to social assistance for residents affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also read: Center-Regional Relations and Coronavirus

Kompas sees the urgency in solving the problem. Kompas has published four articles about the matter: "Don’t Use Political Symbols in Social Assistance" (30/4), "Practices of Politicization of Social Assistance", "Between the Presidential Assistance (Banpres) and Social Assistance (Bansos) " (both published on 9/5), and the results of Kompas’ polling titled, "Public Objects to Politicization of Social Aid" (11/5).

The four Kompas articles are related to the symptoms of the degradation of political ethics among officials. Some try to take political advantage of the social assistance that they distribute to the citizens.

Efforts to gain political benefits and a good political image from the social assistance are carried out by displaying their identities in the social assistance distributed to citizens. In fact, social assistance comes from the state budget, not from the office budget or pockets of the officials concerned.

Also read: The Dynamics of Policy Response to Covid-19

For example, the regent of Klaten, Central Java, Sri Mulyani, distributed hand sanitizer with her image. After the image was removed, there was a note saying the "Aid from the Social Affairs Ministry". The politicization also occurred in several other regions.

Another case that received much public scrutiny and criticism was the cloth bags containing social assistance contributed by the Social Affairs Ministry that have been printed with a message “ Aid from the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Together Against COVID-19".

Kompas polling found that 79 percent of respondents objected to the politicization of social assistance. Did President Jokowi politicize the social assistance to improve his public image? Did President Jokowi still need to improve his public image? I don’t think so, because the 2019-2024 term is his second and last term. President Jokowi\'s legacy will not be determined by the distribution of social assistance, but by other achievements.

From all the episodes of concerns, once again, it appears that the central government and its officials are not ready to face the worst events in this republic. The stuttering of leadership and governance not only occurred during the emergence of the COVID-19 outbreak but also when the virus began to rapidly spread throughout the country.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Wearing personal protective equipment, a health worker carries a blood sample from a rapid test at a community health center (Puskesmas) in Duren Sawit, East Jakarta, on Tuesday (28/4/2020). Large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in Jakarta have started to bring positive impacts. Particularly in Jakarta, new cases of coronavirus are slowing down and the curve is flattening.

No less important, all episodes are also related to political ethics. For example, it is clearly against the principles of good governance if differences between officials are revealed to the public.

Also read: People Redistribute Social Aid to Others More in Need

According to political ethics, if officials disagree, it should be settled behind closed doors. If the contradiction and differences among officials are seen in public, they will cause public noise and confusion.

It is also not in accordance with political ethics if government officials politicize the distribution of social assistance or suggest it comes from them or from their offices. In fact, social assistance is financed from the funds from the state budget, both central and regional.

ABK

Azyumardi Azra

Political ethics is political morality or public ethics. In the COVID-19 outbreak, political ethics is to make moral and ethical considerations the main priority in dealing with the COVID-19 victims and affected citizens, not political motives, not political image or any forms of politicization.

If political ethics or political morality is ignored by officials, the result will be as Desrosiers and Lagasse state at the beginning of this column: "... political decisions facilitated the spread of the virus [COVID-19]….".