With thousands of asymptomatic COVID-19 cases in Greater Jakarta believed to have gone undetected by health authorities, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo finally announced on Tuesday that he would officially ban mudik (mass exodus) to prevent the disease from spreading further across Java.

“Based on field research and a survey conducted by the Transportation Ministry, we found that 68 percent of people had decided not to participate in the annual exodus, while 24 percent still insisted on leaving and 7 percent had already left,” Jokowi said in a teleconferenced limited Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

“It means we still have a very big percentage [of people who will participate in mudik],” he continued. “So I want to announce that we will ban mudik altogether.”

The ban will take effect on Friday, but the government says it will only impose sanctions on violators starting May 7.

Annually, some 20 million people from Greater Jakarta, which is now under partial lockdown, travel to their hometowns to celebrate Idul Fitri, the end of the fasting month of Ramadan that is expected to begin on Friday. The tradition, public health experts say, could lead to the further spread of COVID-19 on Java, an island of 141 million people, where many regions have far worse healthcare systems than Jakarta.

Budi Setiyadi, the Transportation Ministry’s land transportation director general, said the government had prepared schemes to impose the ban. “We have prepared a scheme to prevent public transportation and private vehicles from entering and exiting red zones. [...] We will limit traffic mobility at the entrance and exit points, instead of closing the roads, as we will only ban passenger transportation not logistics”.

He said the ministry would cooperate with the National Police to set up checkpoints to inspect every vehicle that enters or exits Greater Jakarta. He also expressed hope that the government would impose penalties for residents who insisted on participating in mudik.

“Residents who insist on participating in the annual exodus should be sanctioned under Law No. 6/2018 on health
quarantine”.

The ban on mudik is an about-face from the Jokowi administration’s previous policy of merely advising the public not to participate in mudik. The President initially allowed mudik as long as those who traveled self-isolated for 14 days and were strictly monitored by local authorities.

The previous policy drew criticism from health experts, but the government at the time argued that it chose to allow mudik for economic reasons. “Our main consideration is to prevent the economy from stopping altogether. If we ban mudik it would affect low-income households the most. Even if we choose to prohibit people from participating in mudik, they would do it anyway,” Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said on April 3.

The government then chose to implement several measures to discourage people from going to their hometowns, such as preparing social assistance programs for low-income citizens. It asked businesspeople and employers to instruct their workers not to return to their respective hometowns and called on members of the community to support underprivileged citizens, and issued regulations prohibiting civil servants, military personnel and police officers from returning to their hometowns.

Two of Indonesia’s largest mass Muslim organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah have expressed their support for the government’s decision to ban mudik altogether.

Nahdlatul Ulama secretary-general Helmi Faishal Zaini said that prior to the government announcement, the organization had discouraged Muslims from participating in mudik trips or any form of mass worship. “The COVID-19 pandemic is an emergency situation so Muslims may worship at home. We hereby advise all Muslims to obey the government policy not to participate in mudik trips and to stay at home to curb the spread of COVID-19,” Helmi said.

A similar statement was issued by Muhammadiyah executive and Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) secretary-general Anwar Abbas.

“We support the government policy [to ban mudik] especially since the COVID-19 outbreak has caused so many fatalities. […] The government should also try its best to cut the chain of COVID-19 infection so that the outbreak ends soon and residents can resume their normal lives,” Anwar said.

Critics, however, are not impressed with the timing of the policy.

It was too late, according to the opposition parties. “It’s too late. Many people have left the city. And their chance of spreading the virus is huge,” Mardani Ali Sera of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) said on Tuesday.

Irwan of the Democratic Party expressed a similar sentiment, saying he had been suggesting the ban since last month. “Many have tested positive on other islands after visiting Jakarta. [This year’s] mudik should have been prohibited a long time ago. The President was too slow by only banning it now, as the virus is already widespread”.

Melki Laka Lena, the deputy chairman of House of Representatives Commission IX overseeing health, said the government needed to ensure that people experiencing economic hardship as a result of the pandemic received social assistance.

“Many are still in need of social assistance. The government should ensure it and distribute it equally to all,” the Golkar Party politician said.