Indonesians Who Refuse To Wear A Mask In Public Are Now Forced To Do Push-Ups As A Penalty

What do push-ups, cleaning river banks, pulling weeds, digging graves, and even straight-up lying in an open coffin have in common? They're all are punishments handed out to people in Indonesia who fail to follow the regulations of coronavirus. With the country having the highest death toll due to Covid in south-east Asia, the officials are taking unusual measures to combat the spread of the deadly virus. However, according to a human rights group, these types of punishments, which are carried out by national police officers and the military, are "degrading."

According to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center, Indonesia has now over 10,300 confirmed deaths due to coronavirus. The death toll in the country is the highest among all the nations of south-east Asia. Fearing dreadful results, the country's officials are implementing unusual measures to deter people from breaking the regulations, much to human rights activists' dismay.

Talking to VOA Indonesia, Rivanlee Anandar, a staff member of rights group Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, said: "The military should focus on national defence. There [are] no indicators or instruments to measure the effectiveness of involving the military in handling the pandemic."

"Their role in picking up people who have tested positive [for] Covid-19 is too much. In several malls, they even take people’s temperature."

Not only are harsh fines imposed for Indonesians failing to adhere to coronavirus regulations—which include mandatory mask-wearing in public places—but a variety of quite bizarre punishments as well. These include doing community service, push-ups, cleaning sewers, or even running an 800-meter sprint under the scorching sun. Among the strangest punishments that were widely discussed on social media were forcing people to dig graves or to lie in a coffin.

Talking about the controversial decision to punish a person by making them dig a grave, the local district's head Suyono was quoted as saying to the media: "There are only three available gravediggers at the moment, so I thought I might as well put these people to work with them. Hopefully, this can create a deterrent effect."

Indonesian public policy analyst Agus Pambagio thinks the best way to combat anti-maskers is to impose a $68 fine. "There are no countries in the world whose people are disciplined without being fined first. So, if you want people to have discipline, don’t just ‘advise’ them," the analyst told VOA Indonesia.