Indonesian President Joko Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, and Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto brief the media on the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Reuters Indonesian President Joko Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, and Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto brief the media on the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Reuters
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, and Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto brief the media on the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Reuters
Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat
Opinion

Opinion

Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat and Dikanaya Tarahita

Can Indonesians trust Jokowi’s government in the coronavirus crisis?

  • The Indonesian government has been less than transparent, with the health minister attributing the lack of infections until this week to prayer
  • With two confirmed and 80 suspected Covid-19 cases, Indonesia must ensure its agencies are on the same page and improve transparency and public trust

Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat
Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat and Dikanaya Tarahita

Updated: 5:15pm, 4 Mar, 2020

Why you can trust SCMP
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, and Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto brief the media on the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Reuters Indonesian President Joko Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, and Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto brief the media on the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Reuters
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, and Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto brief the media on the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Reuters
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Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat

Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat

Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat is an academic at Universitas Islam Indonesia and is a researcher associate at Jakarta-based Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF). His research focuses on China's foreign policy in Indonesia and the Middle East. He completed his PhD on the Belt and Road Initiatives in the Gulf at the University of Manchester in 2018.