TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has once again called for Indonesians to avert seeking health treatments overseas in a public forum. The president mentioned it on Wednesday as he inaugurated the Tzu Chi Hospital in North Jakarta.

His main argument was that the Indonesian foreign exchange suffers from the wave of people going abroad to seek healthcare treatment despite acknowledging the equipment deficiency of domestic health facilities.

“Do we really have to travel to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, or Japan to seek treatment? Our doctors here at home are just as smart as those abroad, but indeed the equipment is still lacking,” said the President on June 14.

The President claimed the country loses around US$11.5 billion (roughly Rp170 trillion in current exchange) from Indonesians undergoing health treatments abroad. He also claimed 60 percent of Indonesian patients originate from Jakarta, while 15 percent come from Surabaya and the rest from Medan and Batam.

He then lauded the construction of the Tzu Chi Hospital which, Jokowi said, is equipped with health equipment that is on par with hospitals overseas.

“From now on, stop getting treatment overseas. Just go to the Tzu Chi Hospital,” the President said.

M JULNIS FIRMANSYAH

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