PeduliLindungi: your passport to wonderful Indonesia

“PEDULILINDUNGI ada? Dah register? Insurans ada?" (Do you have PeduliLindungi? Already registered? You’ve bought insurance?)

Apart from insurance, you’ll be asked to download the PeduliLindungi app to enter Indonesia. It’s like MySejahtera here in Malaysia.

And yes, you’ll be asked that before you drop your baggage at the flight check-in counter by the local Malaysian Airlines security personnel.

After having all your baggage checked in and getting your flight ticket, you’ll be asked again for the app and insurance at the departure gate before take-off.

The best part is that you'll need to register for the app. But you’ll be provided with no space for uploading your vaccination certificates, and guess what, you will be on “red” status.

This means that the app will show you are not a vaccinated person and not allowed to enter any premises in Indonesia. But that’s okay.

So, a physical vaccination certificate would come in handy, as you’ll be asked several times for that piece of paper to walk as a ‘free man’ in Indonesia.

After arriving in the country, you will be directed to a counter to check on your vaccine status.

There you will be asked… again, for your PeduliLindungi registered app, insurance, passport, and your physical vaccination certificates.

Trying to scan the QR code for PeduliLindungi won’t work as you are known as a "red" status person.

In fact, the app will not allow you to scan the QR code or issue a warning not to proceed to enter any premises.

Because the app will recognise you as an unvaccinated person.

For non-Indonesians, we can go through the Non-Indonesia Vaccination Verification website at https://vaksinln.dto.kemkes.go.id to upload and verify your vaccination status.

Unfortunately, it will take a week to be approved and it is advised to do it as early as possible.

But your ‘intimate’ session with PeduliLindungi will be over once you step outside of the airport.

From there onwards, although all premises bear a QR code, there is no monitoring. You can choose whether to scan the code and enter any premises. Free as a bird.

But don’t forget your physical vaccination certificates, or just show your digital certificate from your MySejahtera apps when asked.

Worry not. During my five-day trip to Surabaya recently, the fuss with the vaccination certificate is at both Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) and Surabaya’s Juanda International Airport. Other than that, people won’t bother.

In Indonesia, Bali has entered a Covid-19 endemic phase, but other regencies are still under the pandemic phase, which means that you still need to wear a face mask.

However, Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has eased the movement control order and border crossing by giving permission to foreign tourists to enter the world’s largest Island country without quarantine starting last March, provided they are fully vaccinated.

As for today, from Kuala Lumpur, you can enter Indonesia at these airports: Soekarno Hatta (Jakarta), Ngurah Rai (Bali), Kualanamu (Medan), Juanda (Surabaya), Hasanuddin (Makassar), Sam Ratulangi (Manado), Lombok, Hang Nadim (Batam) and Yogyakarta for tourism purposes only.

For those travelling from Sabah and Sarawak, you can pass through land border at Entikong (West Kalimantan), Aruk (West Kalimantan) and Tunon Taka (North Kalimantan).

For the insurance, you have the choice to select your own preferences with a Covid-19 hospitalisation coverage.

So, why wait? Pack your bags and embark on a journey to the wonderful Indonesian spots on offer at very attractive and affordable prices. – The Vibes, June 25, 2022