A cloud of wistful melancholy hung over this year’s Idul Fitri holiday as the global fight against Covid-19 raged on. People’s mobility must be limited as part of efforts to curb the spread of the virus.
By
KOMPAS TEAM
·5 minutes read
A cloud of wistful melancholy hung over this year’s Idul Fitri holiday as the global fight against Covid-19 raged on. People’s mobility must be limited as part of efforts to curb the spread of the virus.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The government has banned those who traveled to their hometowns for the mudik (exodus) tradition during the Idul Fitri holiday from returning to their city of origin. This is in line with the earlier mudik ban. The authorities will tighten security checks on travel routes during the Idul Fitri reverse exodus period.
“We have been consistent in banning exodus and reverse exodus travel during the Idul Fitri holiday period,” Transportation Ministry spokeswoman Adita Irawati said in a press statement on Monday (25/5/2020).
National Development Planning Minister Suharso Monoarfa agreed with Adita in appealing to exodus travelers already in their hometowns not to return to their city of origin until the virus threat had dissipated. The government has prepared village fund and labor-intensive programs to last until the year’s end to facilitate these people.
State toll road operator PT Jasa Marga (Persero) said it had recorded fewer vehicles exiting Jakarta in this year’s Idul Fitri, or Lebaran, holiday season compared to the same period last year. The company calculated that 465,582 vehicles had left Jakarta between seven days and one day before Lebaran this year (17 to 23 May), a 62 percent decline compared to Lebaran last year.
On 24 May, the first day of Lebaran this year, 37,878 vehicles left Jakarta. This was an 81 percent decline compared to last year. Traffic exiting Jakarta was spotted on the capital’s west, east and south borders.
Some said it would be impossible to reduce traffic to zero.
Some said it would be impossible to reduce traffic to zero. However, traffic must still be controlled to reduce crowds. Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) secretary-general Harya Setyaka Dillon said crowds of travelers could increase the risk of the virus spreading.
In line with this, the Jakarta Police tightened security checks on the capital’s entry points after Lebaran. Travelers without entry permits to Jakarta will be asked to turn back. At least 37,642 vehicles were asked to turn back at 18 checkpoints in Greater Jakarta between 24 April and 24 May this year. On 24 May alone, the authorities turned back 2,717 vehicles transporting exodus travelers.
Ineffective
Soegijapranata Catholic University transportation observer Djoko Setijowarno said mobility restrictions to Jakarta would be ineffective while Jakarta’s buffer regions did not require travelers to have travel permits (SIKM). This is because travelers banned from entering Jakarta will reside in the capital’s buffer regions, such as Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi. “There must be policy integration with Greater Jakarta [for the policy] to be effective,” Djoko said.
Residents are exploiting this to visit their relatives.
Djoko said he based his assessment on the huge number of vehicles going from Bogor and Depok to Jakarta, and vice versa, without having to go through security checkpoints on Monday (25/5). Residents are exploiting this to visit their relatives. “There was no [check]. Nothing that I saw, anyway,” said Tangerang resident Sumarno, 45, who was on his way to a relative’s home in West Jakarta.
Jakarta Gubernatorial Regulation (Pergub) No. 47/2020 stipulates that all residents must have travel permits to enter or exit Jakarta. The regulation was issued to provide legal certainty for residents in the effort to curb Covid-19 spread. Since online application for the permit was opened on Friday (15/5), 125,734 users had accessed the permit application website at corona.jakarta.go.id as of Sunday (24/5). Of this amount, 5,247 applications were approved.
Lebaran festivities
Idul Fitri celebrations in several regions this year were more muted than in previous years as people adhered to physical distancing rules. Some chose to observe Idul Fitri prayers at home. Fewer people visited their relatives as many opted to have virtual gatherings.
The relative stillness compared to previous Idul Fitri celebrations was palpable in Purus Kebun hamlet, Ujung Gurun subdistrict, West Padang, Padang, West Sumatra. Meanwhile, in Jakarta, most mosque caretakers did not hold congregational Idul Fitri prayers, including those of the Istiqlal Grand Mosque. Many other mosques and open spaces usually crowded during Idul Fitri were also deserted this year. Nevertheless, some insisted on holding mass prayer, like those in Kranji subdistrict in Bekasi, West Java.
Similar sights were abound in other countries. Fears for spikes of Covid-19 cases led to governments restricting citizen mobility. Saudi Arabia, for instance, imposed social restrictions during the Idul Fitri holiday.
The Saudi Arabia authorities held limited congregational Idul Fitri prayers under extra security measures at Mecca’s sacred Al-Haram Grand Mosque. Meanwhile, in Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, known as Islam’s third-holiest site, congregants were only allowed to pray outside.The United Arab Emirates government imposed four-day Idul Fitri social restrictions starting from Saturday.
Meanwhile, New Delhi’s Jama Mosque, the city’s largest and which is usually crowded during Idul Fitri, was left deserted this year. “It has been 1,400 years since Islam was founded. Our parents could not have imagined that we would celebrate Idul Fitri this way,” local businessman Shehzad Khan said.(CAS/VAN/VIO/IGA/SHR/DIV/FRD/BEN/MHD/SPW)