Govt to Issue Protocol on Ramadan Mass Exodus amid Coronavirus

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Religious Affairs Ministry’s director-general of Muslim guidance, Kamaruddin Amin, announced that the government will soon decide a policy regarding the Ramadan mass-exodus or Eid homecoming, locally known as mudik, amidst the coronavirus (COVID-19 ) outbreak. 

”Whether the mudik will be prohibited or not, the government will decide. We can only wait for the government’s instruction” he told Tempo on Thursday,March 26.

According to Kamaruddin, the Ministry cannot single-handedly decide whether an official ban should be issued or not and that it must be discussed thoroughly by the Coordinating Minister of Human Development and Culture, Muhadjir Effendy.

So far, the central government has generally called for people to avert from traveling and to stay at home amid the social distancing protocol the government imposed following the rapid growth of positive coronavirus cases. 

The religious affairs ministry itself, said Kamaruddin, will issue its own public appeal regarding the situation. However, the ministry has yet to officially issue it.

The Eid homecoming is a tradition where thousands upon thousands of people mobilize and travel briefly back to their hometown to gather with relatives in commemoration of Eid celebration after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan. The mass mobilization poses extreme risk of spreading the coronavirus or COVID-19.

EGI ADYATAMA