59 countries close their doors to Indonesian citizens, Malaysia is one of them

Bisnis.com, JAKARTA – At least 59 countries have banned Indonesian citizens from entering their country due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is related to the high number of positive cases of Covid-19 in the country. As of Monday (7/9/2020), the total cases of the Corona virus in Indonesia reached 196,989 people. The number of patients recovered a total of 140,652 people, and 8,130 dead patients were reported.

More recently, the country restricting Indonesian visits is Malaysia. The ban was introduced by Malaysian Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Tuesday, September 1, 2020, and took place as of Monday, September 7, 2020.

In addition to visits by Indonesian citizens, Malaysia also limits visits from the Philippines and India. The local government believes that positive Corona cases in all three countries have increased dramatically.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi, considers that the ban is a right of the local government. The reason is that, he explained, the government has also implemented a similar policy, namely limiting general entry access for foreigners in order to prevent the transmission of Covid-19.

“We also urge Indonesian citizens not to travel abroad except for urgent needs,” he said, quoted by Tempo.co, on Tuesday (8/9/2020).

Other countries that limit Indonesian visits include Hungary, United Arab Emirates, Japan, Brunei Darussalam, Australia, and South Africa.

Indonesian Ambassador to Hungary Abdurachman Hudiono Dimas Wahab said the ban was relaxed last August on the condition that immigrants undergo two tests. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Unfortunately, as of September this year, the ban has been tightened again.

Two government officials said that since there was an entry ban from 59 countries, the Indonesian government has tried to pressure other countries to relax their regulations so that Indonesian citizens can re-enter.

However, the two officials said, many countries still refuse or provide certainty.

Not only because of the large number of Corona cases in the country, some countries are also considering the Indonesian government’s ability to overcome the outbreak.

Retno acknowledged that there was communication with other countries to relax the entry ban for Indonesian citizens.

He added that the easing was not open to Indonesian citizens in general, but to business visits on national strategic projects and urgent government service trips.

“The point is that the economy can function without sacrificing health problems.”