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Doctors to stage rally Monday at Monas, palace
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Doctors stage a rally in front of the State Palace to demand changes to health policies in May. (Tempo/Dasril Roszandi)
T
he Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) has called on doctors to commemorate the 66th IDI anniversary on Monday by taking part in a peaceful rally as part of doctors’ responsibility in health policy advocacy.
In a recent statement, IDI president Ilham Oetama Marsis pinpointed several points the association wanted to address, such as a new category on primary healthcare physicians (DLP) in the revision to the Medical Education Law.
“We criticize the DLP in medical education because deliberation by the professional association and the Indonesian Doctors Council hasn’t been completed, and yet the government is pushing for implementation,” Ilham said in the statement.
The IDI also wanted the government to pay attention to rising medical school costs.
The association has advised on duty-doctors to skip the rally and urged others across the country to participate.
“The central board of the IDI will arrange rallies at three points, which are the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister, the State Palace and the Health Ministry,” the statement said.
IDI president-elect Daeng Mohammad Faqih said as quoted by tempo.co that a rally would also be held at the National Monument in Central Jakarta.
“Our main demand is about the DLP,” he said. Daeng said the program was a waste of state money, prolonged the duration of medical education, marginalized existing general practitioners and created an unnecessary stratum among doctors, which could lead to conflict. (evi)
