President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo vented his frustration over some of his ministers’ lack of a sense of urgency in containing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic during a recent plenary Cabinet meeting. Jokowi said he was “upset” many ministers were still acting as though things were normal and demanded that all Cabinet members share the same understanding of the importance of taking “extraordinary” measures, including issuing new regulations.

The President highlighted that COVID-19 healthcare spending only accounted for 1.5 percent of the Rp 75 trillion budget at a time when hospitals and healthcare workers were most in need of support. “There has been no significant progress so far,” said Jokowi, also highlighting the slow distribution of social safety net funds and government aid for micro, small and medium enterprises. (Photo Courtesy: The Presidential Secretariat of Indonesia)

(JP/Esther Samboh)