Talk about priorities: the Ministry of Home Affairs has reportedly put aside a budget of IDR168 billion (US$11.8 million) for the winners of a competition in which participants must create an informative video about COVID-19 protocols during the “new normal.”
And it was only open to regional administrations and departments.
Despite the huge prize money, it seems expenses were indeed spared in hiring competent copy editors as the competition’s full title, translated, is quite a mouthful: COVID-19 Productive and Safe New Normal Order Regional Innovation Competition (Indonesian title: Lomba Inovasi Daerah Tatanan Normal Baru Produktif dan Aman Covid-19).
Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian said the money will be distributed to 84 winning regional governments and departments, with the topmost prize valued at IDR3 billion (around US$211,100). The runner-up is set to receive IDR2 billion, while third-place will get IDR1 billion.
Tito said his ministry has received over 2,500 video entries, sent in by regional governments at various levels — provinces, cities, and regencies — throughout the country.
The competition was first announced late last month, with participants expected to submit a two-minute long video simulating health protocols involving health experts and local stakeholders. Tito said the competition was aimed at promoting the so-called new normal, or life with COVID-19, in Indonesia.
“As something new, [the new normal] requires an introduction so that the public can be ready and able to adapt. The precondition is done by creating health protocols in various sectors of life and carrying out different simulations,” Tito said at the competition’s awarding ceremony held in Jakarta today.
It should not come as much of a surprise that this particular piece of news was not well-received by Indonesians, many of whom took to the internet to express their displeasure toward the government and further asking where their priorities lie, noting the fact that confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.
Alhamdulillah uang pajak kita digunakan dgn tepat, kirain mau dipakai buat hal-hal kurang penting ❤️ https://t.co/SAlZ9V5QDq
— Acho (@MuhadklyAcho) June 22, 2020
“Alhamdulillah (thank God) our tax money is used accordingly, we thought it was about to be used for unimportant things,” Indonesian comedian Muhadkly Acho wrote sarcastically in a tweet.
Ada uang Rp168 miliar
Pemerintah:
❌ Kasih bonus ke nakes
❌ Bantuan buat rakyat miskin
❌ Bikin swab test massal
❌ Ningkatin kapasitas fasilitas kesehatan
❌ Santunan keluarga korban COVID✔ Bikin lomba video boomer https://t.co/OFJbnaYd2d
— Negara Kesatuan Raka Ibrahim (@coldrebellion) June 22, 2020
“There’s IDR168 billion in cash. The government: no to giving bonuses to health workers, no to distributing aid to the poor, no to providing mass swab tests, no to improving the capacity of health facilities, no to giving compensation to families of COVID-19 victims, yes to holding a boomer video competition.”
https://twitter.com/yatapikan/status/1274945903095238657
“Why didn’t they use that much money to subsidize swab tests?”
Music producer Mardial even submitted a totally absurd late entry to the competition:
Ini video kiriman saya https://t.co/nxtL5cJFyf pic.twitter.com/GQ6vrVbo2r
— mardial (@_mardial_) June 22, 2020
Indonesia recorded additional 954 new cases today, bringing the total to 46,845 as of this afternoon, including 2,500 deaths and 18,735 recoveries. More than three months since the first confirmed cases in Indonesia, the country has recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia.
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