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From military to virus outbreak: What sets Terawan apart from predecessors
Unlike his predecessors, Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto had dedicated himself to the military in 1990, after graduating from Gadjah Mada University. He served as a presidential doctor in Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s administration before becoming the director of the Gatot Subroto Army Hospital in 2015.
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Health Minister Terawan (center) walks at Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport in Jakarta after flying in from Natuna Island on Feb. 15. The government, through the Ministry of Health, repatriated 238 Indonesians from China and has declared them healthy after two weeks of observations related to COVID-19 on Natuna Island. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
H
ealth Minister Terawan Agus Putranto has made headlines in foreign media following his strong reaction to a study by Harvard University researchers that suggested Indonesia might have undetected cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The minister, the first military doctor to be appointed to the post since the beginning of the Reform Era in 1998, described the report as "insulting" and insisted that the government was "not hiding anything" with regard to the absence of any confirmed cases in the country.
Even before his appointment as a minister late last year, Terawan often found himself in the media spotlight at home. Debates that emerged in public ranged from his unconventional “brain-cleaning” treatment for stroke patients -- which led to sanctions from the Indonesian Doctors Association's (IDI) ethics board -- to his string of almost instantaneous controversial statements in response.
Early in Terawan's appointment, Jokowi, in an apparent move to dismiss concerns surrounding the minister, was quick to defend his pick, saying the military doctor had ample field experience in handling disasters and endemic threats that were prone to hit Indonesia.
Unlike his predecessors, Terawan had dedicated himself to the military in 1990, after graduating from Gadjah Mada University. He served as a presidential doctor in Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s administration, before becoming the director of Gatot Subroto Army Hospital (RSPAD) in 2015.
Most health ministers appointed after Indonesia introduced direct presidential elections in 2004 -- all of whom were women -- had spent their careers as civil doctors, researchers or academics, although they were no strangers to public criticism either.
Terawan's immediate predecessor, Nila Moeloek, for one, drew scrutiny in 2018 when she said worms found in canned mackerel were not dangerous, as they contained protein and would die when cooked properly, following findings that at least 27 brands of canned mackerel had been tainted with threadworms.
