The People’s Empathy Needed

KOMPAS/JUMARTO YULIANUS

Mayor of Banjarbaru Nadjmi Adhani at the Banjarbaru DPRD Office, South Kalimantan, April 2019. Nadjmi on Sunday (10/8/2020) died of Covid-19.

The death from Covid-19 of Nadjmi Adhani, the mayor of Banjarbaru in South Kalimantan, has caused great sorrow. The activities of regional heads have a heavy consequence on their lives.

Three regional heads have died from Covid-19. Prior to Nadjmi, North Morowali regent Aptripel Tumimomor and Tanjung Pinang Mayor Syahrul also died from the disease. In addition, 17 other regional heads have tested positive for Covid-19.

Managing the pandemic requires the active involvement of regional heads – governors, regents, and mayors – to monitor the situation on the ground. They have to make sure that the public follows the health protocols, such as wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, and hand washing with soap. The regional heads also need to ensure that the local health services run well, whether in treating Covid-19 or other diseases. Not to mention, they also have a responsibility in distributing social assistance to the residents who have been affected by Covid-19.

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With such heavy duties, regional heads must frequently meet with people from various strata and groups. Many people are able to work from home, but this is not the case with governors, regents and mayors. Serving the public means they must present in the field.

In a teleconference on Monday (10/8/2020), Home Minister Tito Karnavian urged that the public campaign to promote compliance with the health protocols must be intensified. All regional heads must be involved in this as a collective effort (Kompas, 11/8/2020).

Even though the regional heads are working so hard, the impacts of the Covid-19 epidemic have not subsided, but have instead become even more serious. In Jakarta, for example, reported 721 new cases on Saturday (8/8/2020), the highest daily tally recorded since the pandemic arrived in Indonesia.

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KOMPAS/ADITYA PUTRA PERDANA

Minister of Health Terawan Agus Putranto (center) and Governor of Central Java Ganjar Pranowo (second from right) attended to provide compensation to families of health workers who died on duty amid the Covid-19 pandemic, at the Semarang Army Hospital (RST), Central Java, Friday (24/7/2020).

The high daily tally of confirmed cases corresponds with Jakarta’s increased testing capacity. However, the increasing number of new cases is also due to a lack of public discipline in complying with the Covid-19 health protocols.

The problem is more or less similar in other provinces, namely the lack of public discipline as regards the health protocols. In fact, residents in some areas have refused to allow their families to follow the health protocols. Such problems make it even more difficult for the regional heads to fulfill their duties.

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Regional heads must continue to employ persuasive measures in promoting the health protocols. It can only be hoped that a more intensive campaign will help residents become more aware of the need to follow the health protocols to halt Covid-19 transmission.

Over time, however, public discipline has been waning. Anywhere and at any time, we can see many people who are not wearing masks or consciously keeping their distance from others around them. If the people remain reluctant to follow the health protocols, the hard work of the regional heads will be in vain.

The people must realize that they should have empathy for their regional heads.

Despite having fought so hard for the benefit of their residents, regional heads often meet with a lack of public support. Their physical fitness, which is needed to carry out their daily tasks, has often declined due to their high volume of work.

The people must realize that they should have empathy for their regional heads. They can demonstrate this simply by taking a basic step: be disciplined in following the health protocols to prevent the spread of Covid-19.