DPR Member Slams Arrivals of Chinese Workers amid Restriction
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17 May 2021 16:47 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - House (DPR) legislator for Commission 11 on healthcare, Saleh Daulay, on Monday criticized the Indonesian government for seemingly ignoring the public outcry against the arrivals of Chinese workers amid a nationwide ban on mass exodus (mudik).
Reports have shown that 171 Chinese citizens arrived in Indonesia through Soekarno-Hatta Airport on May 4, which took place ahead of the enactment of the mass exodus ban.
“It’s very regrettable that protests and rejections from the public seem to fall on deaf ears. The more refusal arises the more [foreigners] arrive,” said Saleh Daulay to journalists on May 17.
He feared that the waves of foreign nationals into Indonesia amid the spread of the new COVID-19 strains across the globe would potentially pose new threats, and the fact that the foreigners had actually arrived to work was a contrast to the Indonesian work forces were laid off due to the impact of COVID-19.
Saleh quipped, “What type of job that needs foreign workers from China? The Manpower Ministry needs to be open about this.”
The National Mandate Party (PAN) member highlighted the inconsistency that the Transportation Ministry showed in answering the public’s curiosity. The ministry initially claimed the foreign workers arrived with regular commercial flights, but the statement was recently changed that the Chinese workers came via charter flights.
Read: Govt Temporarily Halts Charter Flights Carrying Foreign Workers
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