Govt Must Enforce Ban on Year-end Leave

KOMPAS/SEKAR GANDHAWANGI

Minister of Administrative Reform and Bureaucratic Reform (PANRB) Tjahjo Kumolo.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The leadership of every government institution has a responsibility to impose the travel ban on state civil servants (ASN) during the Christmas 2021 and New Year 2022 period. This will effectively enforce the travel ban intended to prevent further transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and its latest strain, Omicron.

The government has banned all ASN from taking collective leave and traveling to other regions between 20 Dec. 2021 and 2 Jan. 2022 to prevent Covid-19 transmission. The ban is stipulated in Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister (SE Menpan-RB) Circular No. 26/2021 and SE Menpan-RB No. 13/2021, which regulate restrictions on travel to other regions and/or leave days for ASN during the Christmas 2021 and New Year 2022 holiday during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Any violation is liable to sanctions.

Responding to the ban on holiday travel, ASN Commission deputy chair Tasdik Kinanto said on Monday (29/11/2021) that the leadership of every state institution must observe the government-issued rule prohibiting the civil service corps from taking leave and traveling to other cities during the Christmas and New Year holidays, especially following the emergence of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19.

“They [the leadership] should ensure that those personnel permitted to take leave will not travel to other cities. Any violation is liable to sanctions,” added Tasdik.

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The commissioner of the Supervisory Working Group for ASN Basic Values, Code of Ethics, Code of Conduct and Neutrality, Arie Budhiman, also stated that as a profession with its own ethics code, the civil service should contribute to the efforts to prevent the spread of new Covid-19 variants.

“The ASN should take the initiative to appear at the forefront and encourage their respective [communities] to abide by the provisions on the leave ban,” he said.

Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said officials were banned from granting leave to ASN during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Leave could be granted only to employees who were taking maternity leave, ill or had other important reasons. “ASN who are traveling to other regions on official assignments are obliged to bring with them letters of assignment that are signed at least by a high-ranking director [of echelon II] or a working unit head,” he said.

As for setting 20 Dec. 2021 as the starting date of the leave ban during the year-end holiday, public services deputy Diah Natalisa of the bureaucratic reform ministry explained that, based on SE Menpan-RB No. 13/2021, ASN were banned from taking their leave and traveling to other regions before, during, and after the week of the national holidays. This meant that the ban would be effective starting on 20 Dec. 2021.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Prospective passengers climb the flight steps at Soekarno Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, Banten, Tuesday (11/23/2021).The government is prohibiting state civil servants (ASN) from taking collective leave during the Christmas 2021 and New Year 2022 holidays, starting on 20 Dec.

A number of regional administrations categorized as level 3 of the public activity restrictions (PPKM) in Greater Jakarta are also preparing mobility restriction policies that run from 24 Dec. 2021 to 2 Jan. 2022, as per Home Affairs Minister Instruction No. 62/2021. One of them is the Jakarta provincial administration. Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria said that apart

from restricting mobility, the Jakarta administration would continue to ready isolation rooms and hospitals for Covid-19 control.

Threat of Omicron

Amid the risk of transmitting the Omicron variant of Covid-19, first detected in South Africa, the Bekasi municipal administration has also cancelled year-end celebrations at malls.

“The condition is unpredictable at present, regardless of the emergence of Omicron from South Africa. Even those already vaccinated have been affected, not to mention the unvaccinated. This should receive due attention,” said Bekasi Mayor Rahmat Effendi.

In order to control the movement of people during the imposition of PPKM level 3, the Tangerang Metropolitan Police is blocking access roads to and from the city of Tangerang.

In border regions such as along the Indonesian-Malaysiab border in West Kalimantan province, PCR testing facilities are to be provided. West Kalimantan Governor Sutarmidji said all travelers would be required to present a negative PCR test result before entering the province.

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According to Circular No. 23/2021 on Health Protocols for International Travel during the Covid-19 Pandemic, issued by the Covid-19 Control Task Force, all Indonesian citizens arriving from abroad are allowed to enter the country on complying with the health protocols.

Foreign citizens traveling directly or transiting from South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini and Lesotho are provisionally banned from entering Indonesia.

As regards the Omicron threat, public policy observer Agus Pambagio cautioned that Indonesia had experienced instability as a result of Covid-19.

“All entry points to Indonesia must be closed. If this is done halfway, it will be useless,” he said.

(PDS/DAN/ESA/VAN/HLN)

This article was translated by Aris Prawira.