TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Democratic Party politician Andi Arief questioned President Jokowi’s statement on civil emergency policy related to the handling of the coronavirus pandemic. He also urged the president to elaborate on the policy.

"I hope Pak Jokowi explains about what he means by civil emergency today," Andi told reporters on Tuesday, March 31.

He considered the president's statement as futuristic. According to him, a civil emergency is a condition where the government could no longer work and has to be reinstated.

“Are the ministers unable to coordinate with each other, the president cannot meet the vice president and vice versa, the ministers cannot meet each other, the TNI commander can no longer have meetings? If that is so, I think it is a civil emergency,” Andi remarked.

If those things occur, he added, the government must indeed be reinstated. However, the recovery will not be as simple as conveyed by the government yesterday.

On Monday, March 30, President Jokowi announced a policy on large-scale social restrictions that will be complemented with a policy on civil emergency to mitigate the spreading of the coronavirus.

Presidential Spokesman Fadjroel Rachman said that the large-scale social restriction is the new stage of Indonesia's effort to combat the pandemic that is in line with the stricter, more disciplined and more effective call for physical distancing instructed by the president.

Andi Arief thus asked Jokowi to directly reiterate the purpose of the plan to implement the civil emergency policy, not the president's spokesperson.

“Pak Jokowi must speak today, not Fadjroel. I don't think Fadjroel has in his oath a task to explain this civil emergency,” the politician said.

BUDIARTI UTAMI PUTRI