Eid homecoming is the moment most eagerly awaited by Muslims throughout Indonesia to stay in touch and gather to celebrate Eid with their families.  Unfortunately, for Eid in 2020, the Indonesian government banned Eid homecoming due to the COVID-19 pandemic so that many people hoped that in 2021 the ban on going home would be abolished and they could celebrate Eid this year with their families.  However, unexpectedly all these hopes have disappeared. The government officially re-issued a policy to prohibit Eid 2021 homecoming activities from May 6 to May 17, 2021. All modes of transportation are prohibited from operating on that date.  This is not without reason that the policy was eventually re-issued, although it is natural that the ban has brought its own disappointments to those who want to return to their hometowns and spend time with their beloved families. However, behind all that, there are also positive and negative impacts of this policy, and how do we as a society respond to this policy? Let's scroll down!

First of all, let's discuss the positive impact of this policy. Of course we already know, the most important positive impact of this policy is to reduce the transmission rate of the Covid-19 virus and reduce the death rate caused by Covid-19. Based on data from the Covid-19 Task Force published by Kemenkopmk.go.id, last year's Idul Fitri holiday has resulted in an increase in the average number of daily cases by 68-93% with the addition of 413-559 daily cases and the number of weekly cases ranging from 2,889-3,917. Meanwhile, the weekly mortality rate is between 28-66% or 61-143 cases of death. According to the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK) Muhadjir Effendy stated the high rate of transmission and death of people and health workers due to the Covid-19 outbreak was caused after several long holidays, especially after the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Meanwhile, Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin also stated that every vacation there was always an increase in Covid-19 cases between 30-50%, both from confirmed positive cases and active cases of Covid-19.  In fact, the impact of the increase in cases during the Christmas and New Year holidays, the number of active Covid-19 cases is still increasing. Based on that reason and to control the spread of COVID-19 cases, the government re-issued a policy to prohibit the homecoming for Idul Fitri 1442 H, which is valid for 12 days, from 6-17 May 2021.

And the second positive impact is that the existence of this homecoming prohibition policy can reduce the number of traffic accidents during homecoming.  The number of people who want to go home is estimated to have a peak of two or three days before the Eid. At almost the same time tens of millions of people went home using motorbikes, cars, public transportation (buses) and trains, as well as airplanes and ships. Therefore, from year to year the number of accidents continues to increase. With this policy, it can also be proven by the decrease in the number of accidents during the Eid holiday last year. Reporting from Kompas.com, Police Traffic Police Inspector General Pol Istiono said the number of traffic accidents during the Ketupat Operation activities last year decreased by 31% when compared to the number of traffic accidents during last year's Ketupat operation, which was 2,851 incidents in 2019 to 1,980 incidents.  Likewise, the number of victims who died, decreased by 63 percent.  In Operation Ketupat 2020, the number was 418 victims while last year it reached 1,116 victims.

Everything that has a positive impact will always have a negative impact, as well as this policy. The most negative impact of this policy is on the economic sector.  Reported by Theconversation.com, based on Researcher of the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF), Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara said that in a normal situation, the growth of money in circulation during Eid al-Fitr homecoming can increase by more than 10% than usual. In 2019 before the pandemic, the Ministry of Transportation estimated that the circulation of money during homecoming would reach IDR 10 trillion.

Bhima added that the retail sector sales also increased by an average of 30% higher than the usual month. The increase in transactions will make entrepreneurs recruit additional employees, for example at souvenir centers, restaurants and hotels and even transportation during the Eid holiday moments. With homecoming ban policy, the money circulation will be reduced and retail sales will be as usual.

On the other hand, Muhamad Rifki Fadilah, a researcher from The Indonesian Institute, added that homecoming ban policy will have an impact on the economy in the region.  He said that going homecoming for community has a multiplier effect on economic sectors in the region, such as hotels, tourist attractions, and places for souvenirs. In addition, transportation entrepreneurs such as inter-city and inter-provincial buses, planes, and ships must also suffer the impact of the homecoming ban in the form of decreased revenues from passengers who are usually busy going to their hometown. With the negative impact above, it is possible that economic growth in the second quarter of this year could decline, unless the government is able to keep the economy spinning with various other alternatives.

In addition, another negative impact is that the celebration of Eid this year will feel the same as 2020, where this year's Eid will feel less festive and tend to feel empty, unlike the Eid holidays a few years ago. Eid homecoming which is a tradition and is always eagerly awaited every year by our community, where people carry out activities to go home to stay in touch with their families in their hometown after Ramadan, the homecoming ban policy makes people feel disappointed and sad because there are many people who  hopes that this year they can celebrate Eid with their beloved family but were prevented again by the same policy last year. So, this year's Eid will again feel lonely and and not festive because many people are discouraged.

After considering the positive and negative impacts of this policy, we as a society must be able to respond to this policy properly. We as a society inevitably have to understand and accept the current situation. The phenomenon of the homecoming for Eid is the right of all citizens to travel and stay in touch with families, but on the grounds of the spread of Covid19, of course the government must also provide guarantees to protect every citizen, so let's give the government the freedom to show their work hard to handle the Covid-19 pandemic and we as a society also should participate to comply with health protocols and avoid crowds.

So, all policies that have been issued have definitely had positive and negative impacts, and many have also reaped pros and cons. Likewise with this homecoming prohibition policy.  Many people have voiced their disapproval of this policy, and there is some people also have voiced that this policy is correct. After seeing the positive and negative impacts, hopefully we as a society can consider the decisions that will be taken.  Even though we cannot go back to homecoming this year, this does not mean that it is a reason for us to be discouraged to carry out Eid later on. We as a mulsim already know that Eid is a day of victory for Muslims, so let's celebrate together with great joy.

References:

Kemenko PMK. (2021). Larangan Mudik Kurangi Resiko Akibat Covid-19. Retrieved on April 22, 2021 from https://www.kemenkopmk.go.id/larangan-mudik-kurangi-risiko-akibat-covid-19

Kurniawan, Ruly. (2020). Selama Periode Lebaran 2020, Jumlah Kecelakaan Kendaraan Turun 31 Persen. . Retrieved on April 22, 2021 from https://amp.kompas.com/otomotif/read/2020/06/09/122200715/selama-periode-lebaran-2020-jumlah-kecelakaan-kendaraan-turun-31-persen

The Conversation. (2021). Bagaimana Pemerintah Bisa Mengurangi Dampak Ekonomi dari Larangan Mudik. Retrieved on April 22, 2021 from https://theconversation.com/bagaimana-pemerintah-bisa-mengurangi-dampak-ekonomi-dari-larangan-mudik-158707

The life of artists in Indonesia often attracts people's attention, one of which is their luxurious lifestyle. Moreover, nowadays the use of social media is increasing from all ages.  Various social media content that shows the rich side of the content creators is a common thing that we can see everyday life, such as on Instagram, Youtube, and even the currently popular application, TikTok. Starting from giving large sums of money to certain people, making challenges with prize money, or even the latest trend among public figures is to show off the contents of their account balances. In fact, showing off wealth is something that could be considered unethical in our culture, but now everything seems to have changed. Flaunting wealth is no longer viewed as something taboo and negative. Therefore, there are several reasons that must be considered twice by public figures if they want to show off their wealth, especially during the conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The first reason is that it will lead to criminal action from irresponsible people.  Artists and public figures who openly defame their wealth on social media have indirectly provoked people to commit crimes. As we know, not all people on social media are good people in adequate conditions so that those who see the actions taken by these public figures are motivated to work hard so that they can imitate the success of the public figures who are their role models.

However, what if it was the opposite?  If it turns out that the tendency of people to see this success and luxury causes the people around them to want the property that is owned by other people by means of violence, crimes such as theft, robbery, and a series of quite terrible crimes.  As reported by Kompas.com, the Banten Regional Police noted that crime cases that occurred throughout 2020 increased compared to the previous year.  Fiandar said that as many as 3,323 cases of conventional crimes such as motorbike theft, fraud, robbery, and others. According to Fiandar, the increase in crime cases is the impact of the corona virus pandemic.  The perpetrators are compelled to commit crimes due to economic pressure. Therefore, this will have fatal consequences, not only will it endanger the public figures and the artist itself but also endanger other people.

Another reason is that there are still many poor people who really need help at this time.  During the current pandemic, many people are affected by the economy.  Many people have lost their jobs, their businesses have gone bankrupt, and they have difficulty finding jobs.  As reported by Kompas.com, the number of poor Indonesians in the period of September 2020 reached 27.55 million people.  The latest data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows, now the poverty rate in Indonesia has again reached 10.19 percent in September 2020. The number of poor people in Indonesia has increased by 2.76 million people when compared to the same period last year.  The increase in the number of poor people occurred due to the pandemic which caused many economic activities to not run as usual, so that people's income was reduced.

Therefore, it would be unethical for an artist or a public figure to compete to show off their wealth just to have fun and get praise, however, there are a lot of people out there who need help.  If it feels like they can't help a lot of people, it would be better for these artists not to flaunt their wealth openly to public and simply keep it for privacy.  At least this will reduce the existing social inequality.

And the last reason is that an artist and a public figure is a role model for his/her followers who must set a good example to people.  As someone who is a role model, it would be better for the artists and public figures to set a good example by showing a good attitude too.  As we know, flaunting wealth and being arrogant is bad behavior.  If indeed the artists and public figures show this wealth to motivate people not to give up and work hard, it doesn't matter as long as don't do it too often while demeaning people and being arrogant.

As previously explained, currently social media is not only used by adults but also by children who use it.  Artists and public figures should show examples of good attitudes so that today's younger generations can imitate them.  Because at this time, the existence of public figures, artists and influencers greatly affects the lifestyle and mindset of young people.  Therefore, they should give examples of good attitudes and motivate people with the work they create.

Apart from that, as a humans being we have no right to prohibit others from exercising their rights.  Showing off wealth is the right of the artist and the public figures themselves.  There's nothing wrong with motivating people by doing this, it's just that they need to put limits on what they're doing.  Don't flaunt wealth by creating content that is a waste of money just because you want to go viral and get praise from people that you are 'rich'.  Of course that is very unkind and unethical especially during this pandemic.  In addition, we as netizens must also be smart in choosing content spread on social media and we should more supervise children in using social media.

Recently, Indonesian society is being enlivened by the wedding of a famous celebrity and youtuber in Asia.  I'm sure almost all of you already know, right?  Yeps!  The wedding of Atta Halilintar and Aurel Hermansyah.  The couple's wedding, which is often nicknamed the “AA Couple”, was held on April 3, 2021 and is known as the most luxurious wedding party in this year.  Lots of other celebrities attended this AA Couple wedding and there were even several state officials who were invited, and one of them is the number one person in Indonesia, namely President Joko Widodo. Many prayers and congratulations continue to flow from fellow celebrities to this AA Couple.  In addition, not a few people also prayed for this couple to always be happy, stay lasting and romantic, and get a baby soon.  However, behind all the luxury of this wedding, it also creates a lot of controversy among today's society.  Lots of people have criticized and commented on AA Copule's marriage with various arguments.  Here are the reasons why this wedding is so controversial.

First, because of the arrival of President Jokowi himself as well as the Minister of Defense, Prabowo Subianto.  The presence of Jokowi and Prabowo is considered to be the inconsistency of the leaders in pandemic conditions.  Currently the government is voicing and making regulations so that people do not crowd and hold any party, but instead the leaders themselves violate these regulations. As reported by CNN Indonesia, according to an Epidemiologist from the University of Indonesia, Hermawan Saputra, he said that Jokowi and Prabowo were not wise and insensitive even though Atta and Aurel's wedding was considered to have implemented strict health protocols.  For him, the presence of these two figures can trigger the public's desire to increasingly hold a wedding party.  The presence of these two figures will actually make a new shield for the community when they want to hold a party by giving the excuse that they have strictly followed health protocols.  It could be that this will make people think that “The President and the Minister of Defense are allowed to attend the wedding, why can't we?”.

Othe reason is many people were surprised and questioned the existence of a post on the official Twitter account of the Indonesian State Secretariat Ministry that uploaded the AA Couple's wedding photo.  Netizens also flocked to the Twitter reply column from that account.  Many netizens have questioned what the urgency of the wedding party is related to state affairs.  The public questioned how this official account of the Ministry of State Secretariat of Indonesia thought to posting things that were not related to constitutional matters.  So, many people think that this wedding party has become one of the country's agenda that must be done.  Meanwhile, this wedding party itself has nothing to do with state affairs.

A public policy observer, Trubus Rahadiansyah, also commented on this. Reporting from Tempo.co, Trubus questioned the reason the State Secretariat ministry shared news regarding the presence of Jokowi and Prabowo at this celebrity wedding reception. He said that there was no urgency in the presence of these two figures at the wedding party which needed to be broadcast by the State Secretary's account.  He also said that what the Secretary of State had done was clearly not in its place and function.  Even Trubus considered it unethical because it was not related to state matters.

And the last thing is that many people feel the injustice committed by the government.  Many people are disappointed with the government which has created social inequalities.  The government has made a regulation in the form of prohibiting the community if it invites many people and if there is a violation of health protocols in holding a wedding party will get sanctions.  So, lately it often happens in society when they hold a wedding party, they are often forcibly dispersed by the security forces even being criminalized because they are considered to have violated health protocols.

However, the existence of celebrity weddings attended by state officials has finally become a paradox in society.  Where society considers when famous people and people in power can carry out a wedding party at will without any pressure from any party and without being touched on the problem of violating health protocols.  This is what makes people angry and disappointed because this injustice is being demonstrated.

Therefore, because of the large number of people who criticized this couple's wedding, the AA Couple's wedding became a hot topic at the beginning of this month.  Because many people were furious at the paradox that occurred at this wedding, netizens responded with harsh criticism, satire and seemed to make fun of it.  Many people hope that this incident does not happen again.  In addition, the community also hopes that the government must maintain the consistency that has been made.  The laws and regulations that are made must be equal to everyone regardless of their status.  And as the holder of power in the country, the community hopes that the government can be a good example for its citizens and don't even break the rules they have made.

CNN Indonesia. Tak Peka dan Politisi Jokowi-Prabowo di Pernikahan Atta-Aurel. Retrieved on April 6, 2021 from https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20210405193047-32-626269/tak-peka-dan-politis-jokowi-prabowo-di-pernikahan-atta-aurel

Adyatama, Egi. TEMPO.CO. Pengamat Pertanyakan Foto Jokowi di Nikahan Atta-Aurel Diunggah di Laman Setneg. Retrieved on April 6, 2021 from https://nasional.tempo.co/amp/1449357/pengamat-pertanyakan-foto-jokowi-di-nikahan-atta-aurel-diunggah-di-laman-setneg#aoh=16178083199605&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s