CJMYIndonesian tv presenter Najwa Shihab ‘interviewed’ an empty chair after under fire Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto snubbed her invitation to discuss the worsening Covid-19 situation.
Najwa, the host of popular talkshow on Mata Najwa from Narasi TV said that she had extended several invitations to Terawan to appear on the show and discuss his ministry’s handling of the crisis but received no reply.
She then proceeded to direct her questions to an empty chair instead, taking a swipe at Terawan who has been avoiding appearing in public.
“Why have you disappeared, sir? You rarely appear in front of the public to explain about this pandemic. It seems like the only health minister in the world this low profile during the crisis is Indonesia’s. Is your presence in front of the public not so important?” Najwa asked the vacant seat.
Health Minister Terawan is under increasing scrutiny over the past six months as Indonesia has struggled to contain the spread of the coronavirus which has infected 278,722 people and killed 10,473.
Terawan has been a source of controversy from the start, when Covid-19 spread into Southeast Asia in late February, his first response was to ask Indonesians to pray. More worrying for scientists were his comments that the surge in demand for face masks was an over-reaction.
Suspicions began to emerge that efforts were being made to play down the pandemic when official data appeared to differ from information supplied, which was sometimes leaked by state hospital.
Epidemiologists has shown skepticism about the official figures from the ministry with some warning that the real numbers could be five or even 10 times higher.
Little has been done to increase the testing capacity of the healthcare system, which remains far below the required World Health Organization’s standard of 1,000 per million population.
Journalists are unable to determine what money the central government has set aside for testing or to find any other financial breakdown that may point to where the spending priorities lie.
The Health Ministry is home to the largest virus cluster in the capital with 252 confirmed cases and at least 107 doctors and 74 nurses dead from Covid-19.
Najwa took aim at Terawan who has since been missing in action in battling the pandemic, asking the vacant chair to explain why he has not stepped down amid all his failures and repeated reprimands from President Joko Widodo.
“So many health ministers stepped down because of their COVID-19 handling. For example, the health ministers in New Zealand, Czech Republic, Poland, Brazil, Chile, Pakistan, Israel’s public health director, Canada’s public health agency president.
“My question is, sir, is our handling better than those countries?” Najwa asked ending the video with an open invitation for Terawan to appear in her show and answer her questions himself.
Najwa later posted on Twitter explaining that Indonesia’s Health Ministry owes the public clear solutions to prevent the pandemic from spiralling out of control even further.
“This invitation is not a challenge or the like, but it is a hope that the information and policy of handling this pandemic can be obtained directly from the authorities.”
“The public needs to listen to the government’s plan to address the pandemic that has been going on for the past six months.”
“There is a lot of work to be done, but it can all start with showing up. Mr Terawan, you can decide the place and time,” Najwa wrote.
The hashtag #MataNajwaMenantiTerawan (#MataNajwaAwaitsTerawan) reached the top of the Twitter trends list for Indonesia following Najwa’s tweet.
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