Regarding Medical Devices, Hamdan Zoelva: If there are cheaper ones, why choose the expensive ones and import them?

1NEWS, Deputy Chairman of the MUI Advisory Council, Hamdan Zoelva, revealed that there are still many imported medical device products (alkes) at high prices, but do not yet have a halal certificate. He hopes that the government is committed to the use of domestic medical devices.

“If the government has a strong political will, these medical devices such as antigen swab and PCR equipment should not need to be imported, because imported medical devices are very expensive,” said Hamdan Zoelva while attending the celebration of the Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad SAW 1443/2021 which was held at PT Taishan Alkes Indonesia, Jakarta, Thursday (28/10/2021).

The former chairman of the Constitutional Court (MK) hopes that the government will limit the entry of imported medical devices. According to Hamdan Zoelva, the government should prioritize domestic medical devices manufacturers whose prices are much cheaper and of very good quality and have halal certificates.

“The government must review the policy regarding the imported antigen swab and PCR kits that are currently circulating. I am worried that in the future this will become a legal issue, because it is considered to be seeking profit or deliberately playing a game about the price of medical supplies,” he said.

He gave an example of the price of an antigen swab kit published by PT Taishan Alkes Indonesia at Rp. 30,000, while the price set by the government for an antigen swab is Rp. 55 thousand.

“This is from a local factory in the country such as PT Taishan, the price is cheaper than what is set by the government. In fact, I’m sure PT Taishan can hit the price again from Rp. 25 thousand to Rp. 20 thousand. Even these local medical devices have obtained a halal certificate. But how come the most widely circulated are imported medical devices that cost twice as much. I don’t know how much profit it is from these imported medical supplies,” he said.

He emphasized that in the condition of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government is obliged to protect the community while improving the Indonesian economy. It is not good in difficult conditions like this, imported products are too privileged.

“If there is a cheaper one, why choose an expensive and imported one? If you really have the political will and want to revive the economy, domestic medical equipment products should be a priority because this will have an impact on economic recovery, especially employment in Indonesia,” he said.

One of the advantages of using domestic medical devices, said Hamdan Zoelva, is that it will absorb Indonesian workers rather than buying imported products.

“If the import is accepted, the factory is not in the country. Those who work are not Indonesians, the money also goes abroad. I can’t stop thinking about these imported medical supplies. That’s why I ask the government to review the import of these medical devices. Don’t let us become a greedy nation,” he said.[]

sumber: 1news.my.id