It would not be an overstatement to say that 2021 will go down as an unforgettable year, in which bad news outnumbered the good. It was a time when the full force of the Covid-19 pandemic hit most parts of the world, with devastating consequences. In our region, Indonesia – by virtue of its massive population – was the nation which recorded the highest number of cases and deaths. The lack of preparation and absence of timely policies to deal with a disaster of such major proportions initially rendered the government almost helpless in trying to contain the Covid-19’s rapid spread and the destructive impact it had on people’s lives and livelihoods. For months, the country was in total lockdown while the authorities grappled with what rules and regulations to apply. Then there was the desperate search by our diplomats to find the earliest available sources of vaccines for the majority of the country’s 270 million-strong population. As a result, vaccine diplomacy became the main theme of Indonesian foreign policy during those critical months in 2020 and 2021.
On the home front, vaccine non-believers finally came around so that Indonesia, thankfully, was able to weather the worst of the pandemic and drag itself back into recovery mode. Then came the omicron variant. While we cautiously brace ourselves for the worst, we have learned to adapt and proceed accordingly, with masking and safe-distancing as our new life-mantra.
Yet there was a silver lining through all this. Forced to work, study and shop from home, we became even more ‘digitized’, relying almost entirely on online services for our daily needs. Just over the past 12 months, those who were once digitally-impaired became adept at using the computer for a variety of activities. In fact, some have confessed that they now cannot live without their cellphone or their laptops. This fast-expanding consumer market has led to the emergence of new small and medium-scale businesses, mostly in the food and beverage and service sectors, providing some kind of continuity for those hit by the pandemic.
The past year saw the growth of 40 million new internet users across Southeast Asia, bringing the number of people online to 75 percent of the region’s population. However, this is mainly an urban phenomenon where all the necessary infrastructure is readily available. Many rural communities still rely heavily on government assistance, particularly when natural disasters struck, such as the recent eruption of Mt Semeru in East Java. The disparity and inequity between rural and urban communities remain.
The dark cloud over the region has been the military takeover of the government in Myanmar in February 2022. Not only does it represent a serious setback in what was hoped to be Myanmar’s transition to democracy, but the upheaval has set off all kinds of social and economic alarm bells for its long-suffering people. Already beset by the impact of Covid-19, the Myanmarese are now suffering severe food shortages and a desperate lack of healthcare as violence and insecurity spread through the country. For ASEAN, it is a political problem that is difficult to deal with given the regional grouping’s past adherence to a policy of consensus in resolving conflicts. The security situation in the region has further been aggravated by China’s omnipresence in the South China Sea, affecting the maritime sovereignty of Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
As the Year of the Tiger dawns, a continuing priority will be the battle to overcome the pandemic and hopefully return to something approaching normality. In the months ahead, we must continue to live in an almost constant state of vigilance until herd immunity is finally achieved. In the meantime, we at AsiaViews will keep on monitoring events and incidents as they unfold in the region and share them with you.
We wish you a healthy and productive 2022.
Yuli Ismartono
AsiaViews
