- Joined
- Mar 11, 2013
- Messages
- 14,940
- Points
- 113
VICE-president and senior Muslim cleric Ma’ruf Amin has said the Covid-19 vaccine currently being prepared by the government does not have to be halal, a spokesman said.
Vice-presidential spokesman Masduki Baidowi said Ma’ruf’s statement came during a meeting with Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan about the progress of the vaccine currently being developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac in partnership with state-owned pharmaceutical firm PT Bio Farma. “The vice-president explained an important thing: If the vaccine is halal then that’s good, there’s no problem, but if it is not halal it’s also not a problem,” Masduki said in a statement on Friday.
“Because it’s an emergency situation it’s okay to use (a non-halal vaccine).”
This statement seems to contradict a previous statement made by Masduki in August, in which he said the vice-president had urged Bio Farma to ensure that the much-anticipated Covid-19 vaccine would have halal certification before it was distributed.
Masduki said Ma’ruf, who is also currently the non-active chairman of the Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI), would ask an MUI team to go to Beijing to verify whether or not the vaccine was halal.
“But that will not be an obstacle. Why? I reiterate once again that a non-halal (vaccine) in an emergency situation is permitted,” he said.
Later, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said lockdowns are unnecessary and can unduly harm the economy in a video posted on the Presidential Secretariat’s official YouTube channel.
Jokowi reiterated that public health was the government’s number one priority, but added a caveat: “Prioritising health doesn’t necessarily mean sacrificing the economy.
“Sacrificing the economy is the same as sacrificing the lives of tens of millions of people, which is not an option for us.”
He said that his administration was constantly looking to find a “balanced” way to address the outbreak.
“So, there is no need to act high and mighty about implementing lockdowns in provinces, regencies or cities because it will sacrifice the people’s livelihoods.
“But we are still serious about preventing the outbreak from spreading further,” he said. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
Vice-presidential spokesman Masduki Baidowi said Ma’ruf’s statement came during a meeting with Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan about the progress of the vaccine currently being developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac in partnership with state-owned pharmaceutical firm PT Bio Farma. “The vice-president explained an important thing: If the vaccine is halal then that’s good, there’s no problem, but if it is not halal it’s also not a problem,” Masduki said in a statement on Friday.
“Because it’s an emergency situation it’s okay to use (a non-halal vaccine).”
This statement seems to contradict a previous statement made by Masduki in August, in which he said the vice-president had urged Bio Farma to ensure that the much-anticipated Covid-19 vaccine would have halal certification before it was distributed.
Masduki said Ma’ruf, who is also currently the non-active chairman of the Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI), would ask an MUI team to go to Beijing to verify whether or not the vaccine was halal.
“But that will not be an obstacle. Why? I reiterate once again that a non-halal (vaccine) in an emergency situation is permitted,” he said.
Later, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said lockdowns are unnecessary and can unduly harm the economy in a video posted on the Presidential Secretariat’s official YouTube channel.
Jokowi reiterated that public health was the government’s number one priority, but added a caveat: “Prioritising health doesn’t necessarily mean sacrificing the economy.
“Sacrificing the economy is the same as sacrificing the lives of tens of millions of people, which is not an option for us.”
He said that his administration was constantly looking to find a “balanced” way to address the outbreak.
“So, there is no need to act high and mighty about implementing lockdowns in provinces, regencies or cities because it will sacrifice the people’s livelihoods.
“But we are still serious about preventing the outbreak from spreading further,” he said. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
