Polemic of Peduli Lindungi Application: The Difficulty for Citizens to Get an Access for Public Facilities

These days we give our privacy to exchange for health and to get an acces for public facilities. Everywhere we go, we should show our privacy in pedulilindungi application to check in in someplace. Maybe we don't have any choice cause we have controlled by the government. Our mobilities and our activities are in controlling by the government for health reasons. 

So, actually our data right now aren't privacy anymore. In other words, our existence is really under government suveillance.

According to 2021 report from the conference press at Kompas.com, since the Covid-19 vaccination was carried out in Indonesia, the government has continued to seek policy updates to reduce the number increase of Covid-19 transmissions. One of the policy is the government has imposed mandatory screening rules through the Pedulilindungi to access public facilities.

It  was said by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Mr. Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, he emphasized that mandatory screening through the application is a new health protocol system that will be implemented in all public facilities.

"Later on, Pedulilindungi will continue to be used, expanded until it is mandatory in almost all public access, where adjustments are made without exception," he said.

Furthermore, the enactment of the policy is intended so the government can monitor the mobility of citizens. However, this policy is considered burdensome for the poor because they must have smartphone when they want to access public spaces. It's undeniable that not all citizens have smartphone, especially for the poor. Of course it could cause the discrimination for some people. People who can't afford have the same right to be protected by the state.

Another problem is the residents have difficulty when they want to enter the shopping center because when they input their identity number, the access is denied, so it is considered a hassle. Even residents who have been vaccinated with complete dose are still not allowed to enter the mall. The requirement to access public facilities by requiring complete vaccines for all citizens is considered unfair, because not all citizens have received complete dose of vaccine. 

Those who want to vaccinated immediately often don't get their quota because limited vaccine stocks. Therefore, the residents who haven't received complete dose of vaccine will get difficulty to access public facilities and this will certainly cause social jealousy.

Then, the new rule isn't only cause social and economic inequality, but the security of user data is also questioned. Especially at this time, Indonesia doesn't has any Personal Data Protection Law yet, so that if there's a case of leakage of personal data as has happened in BPJS, Tokopedia, Bukalapak, it will certainly harm the community and it decrease the level of public trust in the government. 

Hence, Pedulilindungi is considered to be difficult for the community and the business world because the database system hasn't been integrated and the vaccine coverage has not reached the target yet.