Oleh : Nur Khadijah
A. INTRODUCTION 1. Background
Paragraph IV of the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia mandates Government of the State of Indonesia protects the whole people of Indonesia and the entire homeland of Indonesia, advances general prosperity, develops the nation’s intellectual life and contributes to the implementation of a world order based on freedom, lasting peace and social justice.1 As the implementation of the mandate, then the government must issue a policy or regulation which aims to improve the welfare of the people by always paying attention to the right to livelihood and protection for Indonesian citizens. One tangible form of implementing the mandate of the paragraph IV of the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia is the government has establish Law Number 24 of 2007 on Disaster Management which is a part of national development with the aim of providing protection to Indonesian citizens in the form of providing a sense of security and disaster related assistance
Regarding the Corona Virus Disease-2019 (Covid-19) designation as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) since March 11, 20202, the Indonesian Government responded by determining the status of non-natural disasters towards the spread of Covid-19 as a national disaster based on Presidential Decree Number 12 of 2020 concerning Determination of Non-Natural Disaster Status for the Spread of Corona Virus Disease-2019 (Covid-19) as a National Disaster. Therefore, the government must utilize existing national resources to overcome the pandemic. Through the determination of the status of non-natural disasters, disaster management becomes a part of national development. Some experts find that through the transfer of the allocation of national resources, the government can increase economic development and have a direct impact on the welfare of the citizens. This particularly applies in developing countries where the population is vulnerable and is largely dependent on the country for basic needs.3 Determination of status of Covid-19 as a non-national disaster makes the government responsible for overcoming this matter by referring to Law Number 24 of 2007 concerning Disaster Management and selecting mechanisms outside the Large Scale-Social Restrictions (PSBB) contained in the Law Number 6 of 2018 on Health Quarantine as an effort to suppress the spread of Covid-19. The mechanism contained in the Health Quarantine Law, except for the PSBB explicitly mentions the government’s responsibility for the basic needs of people and livestock in quarantine areas. Thus, if we combine the implementation of Law Number 24 of 2007 on Disaster Management and Law Number 6 of 2018 on Health Quarantine, problems related to fulfilling the basic needs of the society will be resolved properly. Since those who are directly affected by the implementation of the government regulations are vulnerable groups of people, so they also have the potential to not comply with these regulations because of demands to meet basic needs.
However, in order to flatten the Covid-19 curve in Indonesia, the government implemented PSBB policy, which is regulated in Government Regulation No. 21 of 2020 on Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) In Order To Accelerate Handling of Corona Virus Disease-2019 (Covid-19).In this Government Regulation, PSBB is considered to reduce a number of respect, protection and fulfillment of basic rights which are the obligations of the state.4 This loose form of responsibility in fulfilling the basic rights is written in Article 4 paragraph of Government Regulation Number 21 of 2020 on Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) In Order To Accelerate Handling of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) by applying the word ‘cognizing’. The use of the word cognizing only refers to how the government is responsible for the availability of the basic needs, not about how the government is responsible fulfilling the basic needs of the people. This is considered not in accordance with the mandate of the Disaster Management Law which requires the government to fulfill the basic needs of its people.
Based on the gap between Das Sein dan Das Sollen mentioned earlier, this paper aims to explore further on government’s obligations in fulfilling the basic needs of vulnerable people in the Covid-19 pandemic. So, by knowing how the government should carry out its obligations, the fulfillment of the basic needs of vulnerable people will be easier to implement through regulations from the government itself, which will further become a parameter related to the effectiveness of fulfilling the basic needs of the vulnerable in overcoming the spread of Covid-19, particularly in Indonesia.
To achieve the goal, this paper will be arranged with an introduction that includes the background of the current status quo and how it should be handled. Furthermore, in section II, a discussion will be discussed regarding how the government’s obligations in fulfilling the basic needs of vulnerable people and how effective it is to overcome the spread of Covid-19 based on the urgency and comparison of other countries that haved fulfilled basic needs. Lastly, part III contains conclusions from this entire paper, as well as suggestions for implementing basic needs.
2. Problem Formulation 1. What is the government’s obligation to fulfill the basic needs of vulnerable people in the Covid-19? 2. How is the effectiveness of fulfilling the basic needs of vulnerable people in overcoming the spread of Covid-19?
B. DISCUSSION 1. Government’s Obligations in Fulfilling the Basic Needs of Vulnerable People in Covid-19 Pandemic Situation Basic needs are something that is very needed by humans to achieve the level of welfare. The basic needs referred to in this case are the basic human needs for the society that must be fulfilled in order to carry out life, both concerning individual consumption needs (food, housing, clothing), as well as certain social service needs (drinking water, sanitation, transportation, health and education). In connection with the Covid-19 pandemic currently being faced, fulfilling basic needs becomes important in order to maintain the life cycle of the people, especially vulnerable people. Vulnerable people who are prioritized in fulfilling these basic needs have been explained in the explanation of Article 5 paragraph of Law number 39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights which states that what is meant by the vulnerable groups, are elderly people, children, poor people, pregnant women and people with disabilities.
So that in the Covid-19 pandemic situation in Indonesia, which was determined as a national non-natural disaster, the qualifications of vulnerable people who must be fulfilled their basic needs are the urban poor living in densely populated settlements and rural poor groups living in rural areas, women, children, homeless people, informal workers, ordinary traders and street vendors, disability groups, gender and sexual minority groups, and others, which are often neglected and have difficulty gaining access to the rights of their citizens. In addition, vulnerable people also experience wage cuts, rejection of leave rights, laid off without pay, up to termination of employment. For example, as we can see, Jakarta Manpower, Transmigration, and Energy Agency has recorded 139,288 workers experiencing layoffs. They were laid off without receiving wages due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. for the case that has been mentioned, their basic needs is a matter that must be dealt with immediately. The first thing that must be fulfilled by the government in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic is the fulfillment of basic health-related needs which, if viewed in a legal and human rights perspective, state obligations related to the recognition, protection and fulfillment of the Right to Health are the responsibility of the state, especially the government (Central and Regional).And health as a human right must be actualized in the form of providing various health services to the whole society through the implementation of qualified and affordable health development for the society.8 In addition, this must be fulfilled because health is a fundamental right of every human being. Therefore, every individual, family and society has the right to receive protection for their health9 especially Covid-19 pandemic is a serious problem in the health sector, so the function of the government, in this case, must be truly improved.
Aside from health, the government is also obligated to fulfill the basic needs of vulnerable people that become basic daily needs. Apart from the mandate of the 1945 constitution and other laws related to this pandemic, fulfilling basic needs related to basic needs is very important because the current policy chosen by the government has an increasingly bad impact on the economy of the society, especially vulnerable communities. Generally, vulnerable people in the poor category work as factory workers, janitors, public transport drivers, and several other service providers. These jobs are very dependent on the situation that is currently happening. The number of factories that stop the production process due to the appeal to work from home, restrictions on gathering in public places, and the cessation of offices in operation have caused many people to lose their jobs. As a result, their economic condition which was not originally qualified to fulfill their daily needs increasingly deteriorated because they no longer worked.
The economic downturn that is increasingly felt by vulnerable people will lead to high crime rates which are nothing but done in order to obtain material to meet the necessities of life. The problem of poverty and crime are two concepts of social problems that cannot be separated from each other, and even today it is still difficult to solve. This is in line with the opinion put forward by the University of Indonesia (UI) Criminologist, Reza Indragiri that the limitations of movement during the PSBB make many people unable to meet their daily needs to frustration and trigger someone to commit acts of violence and crime. This situation is
explained by using classical theory and frustration theory of aggression which states that frustrated people can compensate by way of aggression, violence, and crime. Indonesian National Police announced an increase in crime in the last two weeks (week 15 and week 16 of 2020) by 11.80 percent. Increased crime is related to two factors. First, the release of more than 38 thousand prisoners for assimilation. Second, the increasing number of poor and unemployed people. PSBB and other policies result in more people not working while they and their families need to eat. It is for this reason that the government is truly obligated to carry out the fulfillment of basic needs during the Covid-19 pandemic.
2. The Effectiveness of Fulfilling the Basic Needs of Vulnerable People in Overcoming the Spread of Covid-19
Reflecting on the urgency of fulfilling the basic needs of vulnerable people by the government, this has become an effective step to break the Covid-19 distribution chain in Indonesia. This also contradicts the PSBB policy governed by the government, where there is no burden of being responsible for the government to meet people’s needs, making people dilemma to meet the necessities of life or adhering to the Covid-19 disaster management policy.
During the implementation of the PSBB regulations, there were still many residents who did not comply with the rules related to staying at home. The implementation of PSBB still adds to the number of positive cases of Covid-19 in Indonesia. Based on data from the Covid-19 monitoring page of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government, the graph shows that Covid-19 positive cases in Jakarta continued to increase during the Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) on April 10 – 23, 2020. Since the implementation of the Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB), there was an increase of 1,696 cases or an average of 130.4 cases per day during the first phase of the Large-Scale Social RestrictiSo that the Chairman of the Indonesian Citizens Forum, Azas Tigor Nainggolan assessed based on data from the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government, Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB), in Jakarta was still not effective in suppressing the spread of the coronavirus.12 This is due to the fact that during the implementation of PSBB, there were still many residents who violated the provisions for reasons that there were still economic problems that had to be worked on by the society to meet their daily needs.13 The large number of violations caused by economic reasons shows that if the fulfillment of basic needs for vulnerable people is fulfilled, they will remain at home and comply with the regulations of the government.
The realization related to fulfilling these basic needs can be seen in the policy of the Indian prime minister who launched a policy of helping the poor people in India during the lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. India announced an aid package of Rs 1.7-lakh-crore to care for the poor, workers, and those who needed help amid a lockdown to combat the COVID- 19 pandemic. Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at a press meeting in New Delhi that each would get free 5 kilograms of rice or wheat every month for the next three months. Other assistance includes cash transfers and food security guarantees.14 Based on these efforts and the assistance of other efforts from the Indian government, the number of positive cases in India has decreased. The decrease in the number of daily new cases is accompanied by the number of daily deaths of coronavirus victims. On March 26 there were 8 deaths, dropped to zero deaths on March 27, then four deaths on March 28, and again dropped to three deaths on March 29.15
By seeing India’s success in curbing the increasing number of Covid-19 cases, and some urgency that will be fatal when this mechanism is not implemented, the Indonesian government should no longer hesitate to carry out its obligations in tackling this national non-natural disaster by fulfilling the basic needs of vulnerable people. ons (PSBB) took place in Jakarta. This number is higher than two weeks before the Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) is implemented, namely an increase in 1,153 corona positive cases from March 27 to April 9, 2020.
Considering some urgency and the reason why the government must implement the fulfillment of basic needs with clear regulations, the government can refer to the Head of National Disaster Management Agency Regulation No. 7 of 2008 concerning Guidelines on Procedures for Providing Assistance to Fulfill Basic Needs. This Regulation of the Head of the National Disaster Management Agency can be enforced given the status of the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia is determined as a national non-natural disaster that gives obligations to the government to meet the basic needs of the society during a disaster. The point that should be the focus of the government on National Disaster Management Agency head regulations related to guidelines on how to provide assistance to meet these basic needs is food assistance and health service assistance. These two points are very much needed in handling the COVID- 19 pandemic because the regulations provided by the government do not reach the point of how to fulfill these basic needs.
Chapter V Point C Regulation of the Head of the National Disaster Management Agency Number 7 of 2008 concerning Guidelines for Procedures for Providing Assistance to Fulfill Basic Needs mentions in great detail how the implementation of assistance is provided. Things that need to be considered by the government are on the part of the data collection mechanism, which is fairly time-consuming especially in the current emergency situation of the Covid-19 pandemic. So that in relation to this mechanism, the government should work with non- governmental social assistance institutions to request society data in each region that falls into the category of vulnerable community groups. This is done considering that there has been some social assistance channeled from non-governmental social assistance institutions before the government carries out this obligation so that of course they already have related data. Thus, the mechanism related to data collection which is the most important step can be done without requiring a long time vulnerable.
C. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 1. Conclusion
Indonesia is one of the countries that highly respects and upholds human rights. So that, in the context of handling the Covid-19 pandemic, these rights must be kept in mind and even given more special attention. Determination of the status of national non-natural disasters and the choice of PSBB by the government makes more people’s rights are violated. The right to get the fulfillment of basic needs contained in the Disaster Management Act apparently does not contain the mechanism in the implementation of PSBB. In vulnerable communities, for example, they experience wage deductions, denial of leave rights, laid off without pay, until termination of employment. This will certainly have a significant impact on their life processes during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Fulfilling the basic needs of vulnerable people can be a form of appreciation from the government for human rights and a form of government accountability for its people based on the mandate of the Constitution and the Law. Fulfilling these basic needs is also based on the causes and consequences that will be incurred if not implemented immediately. Therefore, through the mechanism that has been regulated by the government can carry out the fulfillment of these basic needs as well as possible.
2. Suggestion
In dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic which has become a problem for all countries in the world especially in Indonesia, synergy between the government and the citizens itself is needed. The role of government here is needed in the fulfillment of citizens’ rights related to basic needs during the pandemic. Because if it is not implemented, it will have great consequences and the society must obey the regulations set by the government. The role of the government in meeting these basic needs can be done with mechanisms that have been set but still must pay attention to the efficiency of its implementation so that in the not too distant future, the society can comply with regulations set by the government. Regarding the mechanism for providing basic needs, the government should work together with non- governmental social assistance institutions to request community data in each region that falls into the category of vulnerable community groups.
REFERENCES
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