Virus Update #65 May 24, 2021

Overview- Quarantine Period Could Lengthen

AICC has been shown a draft of a Ministry of Health recommendation that the 5 day quarantine period for foreign visitors be extended to 14 day in recognition of newly emerging COVID variants. The US is among the countries that the new policy will apply to.  Although nothing has yet been officially released, sources say the government is waiting to see what happens when the mudik period (fasting month exodus and return) has ended.  If there is a surge in new cases, these would appear in early June.

Case detections since May 13 have been rising. May 24 saw 5280 new cases.

Travel-

Indonesia is now banning travelers from India and Pakistan or who have traveled there. Check your airline regarding their route and landing policy.

Indonesia has not yet opened access for visa-on-arrival and visa-free during the COVID-19 pandemic, except for foreigners with essential purposes such as businesses, works, or humanitarian reasons. Visit Indonesian Immigration (https://www.imigrasi.go.id) and the Indonesian Embassy (https://kemlu.go.id/washington/en) for updated visa and entry requirements as regulations may change frequently.

Port of entry for international flights remains Jakarta for most flights.

AICC Member, PT Cekindo can help secure business visas.

The current situation is that you need to have a local sponsor to obtain a visa and you have to undergo a 5-night quarantine. The local sponsor applies directly to Indonesia’s immigration department. Jakarta is currently the only port of entry; you fly to other regions (i.e. Bali) from there.

AICC member PT Cekindo is currently arranged business visas if you do not have a local sponsor. Contact: Vincent Cellier vincent.cellier@cekindo.com

Economic

• Trade Surplus: Indonesia has booked a surplus in foreign trade for 12 consecutive months since May last year, according to new official data, as the country benefits from a rebound in demand from trading partners and higher commodity prices. Statistics Indonesia (BPS) revealed on Thursday that Indonesia’s trade surplus was at US$2.19 billion in April, widening by 39.5 percent from March and marking a rebound from a deficit seen in the same month last year.
• Thohir Fires Kimia Farma Board: The Minister for State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir has summarily dismissed the entire board of directors of Kimia Farma Diagnostika (KFD). The firing was part of a scandalous case in which “used” COVID-19 Antigen test kits were being sold to an unsuspecting public via’s Medan’s Kualanamu Airport as “new” test kits.
• Bali Hotel Association Lobbies to Reopen Borders: The head of a leading Indonesian Hotel Managers Association is lobbying for a selective approach to reopening Bali’s borders. Yoga Iswara, said foreigners visiting Bali should be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19, pre-flight PCR testing, and retesting for COVID-19 after a minimum 2-day quarantine. To minimize risk, he also said tourists visiting Bali would confine their movements to special zones certified as adjusted for life in the “new normal” by following all health and hygiene protocols.
• New Tax Law: Indonesia is moving closer to a new tax law, adding a general goods and services tax (GST). Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said Wednesday, May 19 that the President had sent the request letter to the House of Representatives to begin discussing a draft of the fifth revision of the 1983 General Taxation Law. Airlangga said the revision would cover changes to value-added tax, personal income tax, luxury sales tax and excise, lowering corporate income tax and introducing a carbon tax and a second tax amnesty. “There will be a couple of things we will discuss, the result awaits deliberation with the House,” Airlangga said in an online press briefing on Thursday. “We hope the deliberation will take place as soon as possible.” The revisions are clearly intended to raise more revenues, but they could allow the government more flexibility to apply tax revisions in a more efficient, and targeted fashion. Some of the items in the Minister’s statements, such as the carbon tax, are quite new and could provoke resistance. On the other hand such a tax would stimulate investment in renewable. It will take time before details are forthcoming.

Foreign Affairs

US Embassy Protest: More than a thousand Muslims rallied outside the U.S. Embassy in Indonesia’s capital on May 21 to denounce American support for Israel and demand an end to Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.

Politics/Law/Governance

The head of the KPK (Anti-Corruption Commission) Firli Bahuri, may be at loggerheads with President Jokowi over the fate of 75 KPK employees (including many who are the organization’s best corruption fighters such as Novel Baswedan) who failed a civil service test. Although the President has called for keeping them active, Bahuri apparently has reassigned their duties to others. Although theoretically other state institutions such as the Attorney General’s office can prosecute corruption cases, the KPK was created with a greater degree of independence due to law enforcement problems within the police.

(sources: International and Indonesia news media, Bali Update (from balidiscovery.com), Reformasi Weekly, US Embassy website)