Beware of Urbanization During Covid-19 Epidemic

Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro

A police officer stands guard around the inspection location or check point at Palimanan Toll Gate, Cirebon Regency, West Java, on Friday (22/5/2020). In this place the police inspect the passing vehicles as an effort to isolate the travelers before the celebration of Eid al-Fitr 1441 H.

The Covid-19 epidemic has forced most people to call off their plans to go on mudik (exodus) to their hometowns during this year\'s Idul Fitri holiday. So, will the flow of urbanization this year be like previous years during the post-Idul Fitri holiday?

The flow of mudik during Idul Fitri, or Lebaran, this year is much lower than in previous years. There is no traffic congestion. The reasons for this include the virus epidemic that has not receded yet. The government also issued a regulation prohibiting people from taking part in mudik to prevent the spread of the virus.

In the Transportation Ministry’s "Survey of the Effects of Social Restrictions (PSBB) on the Intention to Go On Mudik 2020" in March, 57 percent of respondents said they would not go on mudik. The result of the online survey was in line with the result of the Kompas Research and Development poll in mid-May. The majority of respondents (95.7 percent) said they would not go on mudik during Lebaran this year.

These two reasons show there is already growing awareness among the public to break the chain of Covid-19 transmission by not going on mudik.

Of those who said they would not go on mudik, almost a quarter cited the reason that they were worried about contracting the coronavirus. Interestingly, 17.9 percent of respondents who did not go on mudik said they were forbidden by their relatives in their place of origin. These two reasons show there is already growing awareness among the public to break the chain of Covid-19 transmission by not going on mudik.

However, when observed further, the respondents who decided not to go on mudik had changed their decision. Initially, half of the respondents who decided not to go on mudik said they had plans to go on mudik this year, but they canceled it. Perhaps, some factors, such as their awareness about the danger of the epidemic, the government ban and the budgetary allocation for mudik contributed to their decision not to go on mudik.

Opt for mudik

Before the government issued the mudik ban, the Transportation Ministry’s online survey found that 7 percent of respondents had gone on mudik. Those who had gone on mudik mostly used private vehicles, such as cars and motorbikes.

They mentioned their reasons for deciding to go on mudik, with almost 45 percent of respondents saying their decision was because their workplace or school had implemented a work-from-home or study-at-home policy. Meanwhile, as many as 28 percent of respondents said they decided to go on mudik for fear of contracting the virus while at work or at school. The rest said they decided to go on mudik because they were no longer employed in the city.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Police officers stand guard in large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) blocking operations on Jalan Raya Kalimalang, East Jakarta, on Tuesday (26/5/2020).

A similar reason was mentioned by around 3.5 percent of respondents in the Kompas survey who decided to go on mudik. The majority of respondents (around 89 percent) said they decided to go on mudik during the Idul Fitri holiday because they could not ignore the annual tradition.

For this small part of the community, celebrating Idul Fitri means they must be able to meet their parents and relatives in their hometowns. They said celebrating Idul Fitri meant they had to be able to do halal-bihalal (forgiving each other) by meeting in person.

Meanwhile, about 6 percent of respondents said they decided to go on mudik because they no longer had an income in the city. This is another problem that is quite prominent during this epidemic. The social restrictions policy in some areas has an impact on the closure of most business sectors. This is what makes most people lose their jobs.

Mudik ban

The government’s mudik ban is stipulated in Transportation Ministerial Regulation No.25/2020. The regulation contains a prohibition on the use of transportation facilities to transport passengers in and out of areas imposing the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB), the epidemic red-zone areas and regions that have implemented PSBB for all modes of transportation.

However, the ministerial regulation was in fact not powerful enough to stem the flow of people going on mudik or those who were determined to break the rules. Citing Kompas reporting, on the first day of the social restrictions in Greater Jakarta area, around 3,000 passenger transport vehicles leaving Jakarta were told to turn back to the capital city.

In total, there were 202 vehicles, consisting of 11 buses, 112 minibuses, 78 private cars and 1 truck, being used to transport passengers.

Then, from May 8 to 11, the Jakarta Police Traffic Directorate stopped a number of private cars carrying passengers to go on mudik. In total, there were 202 vehicles, consisting of 11 buses, 112 minibuses, 78 private cars and 1 truck, being used to transport passengers.

Although security measures have been enforced, from May 17 to 18 similar violations were found again. The Jakarta Police successfully arrested 300 travelers using 46 rented cars to illegally go on mudik. The travelers intended to go to some destinations in West Java, Central Java and East Java, including Purbalingga, Indramayu, Banjarnegara, Kebumen, Solo and Jombang.

Police personnel guarded the Palimanan tollgate in Cirebon, West Java, on Friday (22/5/2020). During a random check on travelers, they were required to show letters and undergo a body temperature check.

Data and information about the number of homebound travelers can also be checked from toll-road operator Jasa Marga\'s data which monitors the flow of vehicles going out of Jakarta. In the days leading to Idul Fitri (H-7 to H-1 Lebaran), around 465,000 vehicles left Jakarta driving to the east, west and south. While on the first day of Idul Fitri 37,878 vehicles left Jakarta.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Guard at Palimanan Toll Gate in Cirebon, West Java, Friday (22/5/2020). Travelers are required to show the documents and scanned body temperature.

This shows that the flow of mudik traffic still exists despite the ban. It\'s just that the amount of traffic decreased about 62 percent compared to Lebaran 2019. The flow of traffic leaving Jakarta consisted of individuals who violated the mudik ban and a small portion of people exempted from the mudik ban.

A circular issued by the Covid-19 Task Force, Circular No. 4/2020, regulates details of people exempted from the mudik ban, which applies to a number of parties, including individuals who carry out governmental tasks, health services, basic services and important economic activities.

Based on the circular regarding the criteria for limiting travel, any individuals who have an interest in entering or leaving the PSBB area must fulfill a number of requirements to obtain an entry and exit permit (SIKM). SIKM requirements include ID card, hospital referral letter for patients who will seek treatment elsewhere, death certificate for those whose core family members have died and evidence of a negative Covid-19 test or valid health certificate.

The government through the Transportation Ministry provides special land, sea and air transportation modes for this exception. 300 buses and 68 autobus companies are provided to cities in Java and Sumatra. Then, there are also six special train trips, each one consisting of one executive class car and one economy class car.

Urbanization

In previous years, mudik during Lebaran was followed by urbanization, which usually took place during the reverse flow after Lebaran. Will this year also see urbanization given the decline in the number of mudik travelers due to the Covid-19 outbreak?

The majority of respondents in the Kompas survey who went on mudik said they would still return to the city after Lebaran. The mobility of people in and out of the regions needs to be given serious attention because it happened during the epidemic.

The Jakarta governor through Gubernatorial Regulation No. 47/2020 stated that people who wanted to return to Jakarta must get an entry permit (SIKM). This is actually imposed to anticipate the spread of the virus in Jakarta.

More than half of respondents said that during this epidemic, urban areas were no longer attractive to them to get jobs.

The existence of a widespread epidemic and restrictions on inflows in Jakarta affected respondents in responding to questions regarding the attractiveness of the city. More than half of respondents said that during this epidemic, urban areas were no longer attractive to them to get jobs.

However, 37 percent of respondents said urban areas were still attractive to them to try their luck. The crippling of various economic businesses in the cities due to the epidemic also does not necessarily make people lose interest in urban life.

Perhaps the higher regional minimum wage (UMR) in larger cities remains attractive to many people. The provincial minimum wage in Jakarta in 2019, for example, was Rp 3.6 million per month. The minimum wage is far above the average national minimum wage in the same year of around Rp 2.4 million per month.

However, the perception of people who no longer see urban areas as an attractive destination to get jobs can be an early indication of de-urbanization. De-urbanization, according to the study "Implications of De-urbanization on Local Consumption in Urban Suburbs” (Dwiyanti, 2012) is the decreasing population in urban areas.

Health workers check a driver\'s body temperature at the Palimanan tollgate checkpoint, Cirebon regency, West Java, on Friday (22/5/2020).

KOMPAS/JOHANES GALUH BIMANTARA

Toyo (50) prepared lontong packaging, on Monday (10/6/2019) afternoon, at a rented complex on Jalan Swasembada Timur IV, Kebon Bawang Village, Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta. This is one portrait of Jakarta\'s urban residents.

De-urbanization is motivated by several factors, including the shifting of industrial locations to areas that have lower costs, the development of transportation that makes it easier for people mobility and the advancement of internet technology. Another factor is the issue of comfort and a better quality of life in areas outside the city center.

The epidemic and mudik during Lebaran can be a moment for this de-urbanization.

The epidemic and mudik during Lebaran can be a moment for this de-urbanization. When many residents choose to remain in their village or area of origin, there is a possibility that the wheels of the economy in those areas will also run faster than before. If this assumption is correct, growth and development in the village or area of origin of the migrants can develop faster.

Apart from the assumption that de-urbanization might occur, the central government and the provincial administrations must first pay attention and be vigilant about the flow of urbanization that may occur after Lebaran this year.

If the government is really serious about breaking the chain of Covid-19 transmission, the government must tighten the monitoring of every citizen who migrates to other areas. The firm measures by related institutions are still needed to deal with the stubbornness of people who are still going back and forth ignoring the danger of the Covid-19 epidemic. (KOMPAS R&D)