What's The New Normal?

The fight against Covid-19 must continue to be proclaimed. Reports of deaths due to the virus, as well as appeals to comply with health protocols, have not made the public more self-aware. With the target of a new normal life, how do we make new behaviors a habit? What government policies, especially in the health and economic sectors, need to be improved towards that phase?

In the Populi Forum event entitled "What's New with the New Normal?", Populi Center attempted to find the answer to this question. This discussion was held online via the Google Meet application on Thursday (09/07/2020) by presenting three speakers, namely Prof. Dr. Tadjuddin Noer Effendi (Professor of Sociology UGM), Bhima Yudhistira (Economic Observer INDEF), and Ade Gozali (Researcher Populi Center). The discussion which took place at 13.00-15.00 WIB was led by Nurul Fatin Afifah (Researcher Populi Center).

INDEF Economic Observer, Bhima Yudhistira explained, the threat of layoffs due to the pandemic in the MSME sector haunts this country. In fact, before the pandemic, the sector was a safety valve when formal workers were laid off. If layoffs in the MSME sector occur, the economic conditions will worsen. "This means there is a mini apocalypse in 2020," he said.

According to Bhima, Indonesia's stimulus to handle Covid-19 is still small compared to other countries, such as Malaysia. Even more concerning, the disbursement is also minimal. The problem arose because of sectoral egos between institutions, fear of officials being sued by the Corruption Eradication Committee, and the slow performance of ministers. "There is nothing special about our stimulus," he added.

Meanwhile, Populi Center Researcher Ade Gozali appreciated the government's performance in handling Covid-19. As long as the anti-virus has not been found, the only step that can be taken is adaptation. Therefore, he continued, the PSBB option and the new normal phase taken by the government were right so that the economy at the grassroots level could grow. Although the macro results are not yet clearly visible, economic movement is happening in real terms in society. "So, the real impact on the ground is starting to appear," he said.

In addition, he emphasized that Covid-19 is a humanitarian issue. Thus, issues of religion and ethnicity are irrelevant in the midst of this pandemic. To raise collective awareness, the key is in collaboration between the government and society. "So, we are not criticizing or attacking each other, but holding hands without touching," he said.

Professor of Sociology UGM, Prof. Dr. Tadjuddin Noer Effendi highlighted the emergence of new epicenters, such as in markets that then spread to residential areas, in Jakarta. New cases like this show that public awareness and compliance are still minimal. The low level of public awareness and compliance cannot be separated from the identity of the nation. "In other countries, such as Vietnam and Germany, there is public awareness that non-compliance has an impact on the chaos of their country," he said.
He suspects that the low level of education is the cause of the low level of awareness of the population in Indonesia. Most of the education levels in this country, he continued, are still junior high school and below. "With such a level of education, subjects that emphasize national life and moral issues do not receive much attention," he said.