TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) chairman Tulus Abadi has rejected the plan to reopen malls in Jakarta on June 5, 2020, calling it a premature and hasty move.

“YLKI is against the planned reopening of malls on June 5. Why? Because according to estimates June 5 is not safe yet for the control of COVID-19,” he said via footage on Tuesday, May 26, 2020.

According to Tulus, malls can only reopen when the COVID-19 transmission curve flattens, particularly in Jakarta, thus there is no reason for the government to reopen malls beforehand.

“I think the Jakarta governor should reject the planned reopening of malls on June 5 if the curve in Jakarta has not flattened yet, which means it is still unsafe in terms of COVID-19 management,” Tulus said.

He added it was unfitting to proceed with the plan amid the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB). “Do not dare open malls or other facilities as long as the PSBB is in effect or in red zones,” he said.

Earlier, the chair of the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Shopping Center Association (APPBI), Ellen Hidayat, said a number of malls in the capital were set to resume operations on Friday, June 5, 2020. “The data of malls that are members of the Jakarta APPBI that will reopen, based on the Gubernatorial Regulation No. 489 Year 2020,” Ellen said in a written statement on May 25, 2020.

CAESAR AKBAR