Terawan Agus Putranto

Terawan Agus Putranto (born 5 August 1964)[1] is an Indonesian physician who served as the Minister of Health of Indonesia between 23 October 2019[2] and 23 December 2020. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of Gajah Mada University and then joined the Indonesian Army as a military physician. Then, he learn the Radiology in Airlangga University and finish the doctoral degree in Hasanuddin University at 2013. He is a radiologist. He is the fourth Health Minister of Indonesia to have come from the military and the first since Suwardjono Surjaningrat, who was in office between 1978 and 1988. As Suwardjono and the two earlier officers were 2-star generals, Terawan, a 3-star general, is the highest-ranked military officer to have ever held this ministerial office.

In this Indonesian name, there is no family name nor a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Terawan.

Terawan Agus Putranto
19th Health Minister of Indonesia
In office
23 October 2019 – 23 December 2020
PresidentJoko Widodo
Preceded byNila Moeloek
Succeeded byBudi Gunadi Sadikin
Personal details
Born (1964-08-05) 5 August 1964
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
SpouseEster Dahlia
Children1
Alma materGadjah Mada University
Airlangga University
Hasanuddin University
Military service
Allegiance Indonesia
Branch/service Indonesian Army
Years of service1990–2019
Rank Lieutenant General

Positions

Minister of Health of Indonesia

Indonesian President Joko Widodo appointed Terawan as Health Minister on 23 October 2019, having previously promoted him to the rank of Lieutenant General.[5]

National Healthcare Insurance

Upon his appointment, Terawan promised to resolve a deficit in Indonesia's single-payer government healthcare program, BPJS Kesehatan;[6] however, he was criticized when the government increased the premium for healthcare coverage.[7] Terawan later said he had no solution for the program.[8]

COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Terawan was involved in the government's successful effort to evacuate 188 Indonesians trapped on the World Dream cruise ship.[9] He was criticized for quarantining Indonesians returning from Wuhan too close to residential areas, despite assurance from Indonesian government that the returning Indonesians were not infected. After a mandatory 14-days period of quarantine, all Indonesians quarantined were declared infection-free.[10]

Terawan was criticized for stating that flu is more dangerous than COVID-19 because flu has a higher mortality rate.[11] However, his initial response to the spread of COVID-19, such as the initial recommendation to not wear a mask, is quite aligned with other public health officials around the world including Anthony Fauci of the United States' NIH and general directions from the World Health Organization.[12][13]

Terawan is also under fire for his "anti-science" and "arrogant" attitude in leading the COVID-19 crisis in Indonesia.[14] He has the reputation to be bad in responding critics and input from the public. One of the cases is when he challenged a study done by Harvard University. Marc Lipsitch, epidemiologist from Harvard University, and three of his colleagues conducted research to determine locations around the world that could have undetected cases of the virus imported from abroad.[15] Terawan comments on the study, "In my opinion, the suspicion is too far-fetched. Let Harvard to come here. The door is open for them to see. There is nothing we keep secret."[16]

On 4 October 2020, a coalition of civil societies groups which consists of academics and social organizations calls for Terawan resignation for his alleged incompetence of COVID-19 handling. The group started a petition urging the president to fire the minister.[17]

A controversial interview done by Najwa Shihab attracted national attention to the whereabouts of Minister Terawan during pandemic. The empty chair interview was the first to be performed in Indonesia. Even though there are reports about the interview, Shihab deemed her action as still a form of journalism.

On 22 December 2020, it was announced that Terawan was being replaced as Health Minister by Budi Gunadi Sadikin.[18]

Controversy

Prior to his appointment as minister, Terawan was known for his “brain-cleaning” treatment or intra-arterial cerebral flushing, a combination of digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and heparin injection for stroke patients. He claimed his method was effective as a treatment for stroke patients; however, since the first instance of this procedure being done was before any scientific study supporting the procedure being published, The Court of Medical Honour and Ethic (MKEK) of Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) deemed the practice unethical and issued a recommendation to suspend him for a year over a violation of three articles of the Indonesian Doctors Ethics Code.[19]

In October 2019, Terawan was named as one of the candidates to be the next Minister of Health. IDI then wrote to Jokowi, suggesting that he should not be appointed as minister.[20] However, Jokowi said that Terawan had met all criteria required to be a minister of health, and referred to his previous experience in managing budgets and human resources, including during his service as the Gatot Soebroto Army Hospital (RSPAD) director.[21]

On 25 March 2022, The 31st General Assembly of IDI confirmed the recommendation of MKEK-IDI, effectively stripped Terawan from its membership.[22] Since he is no longer member of IDI, he will not be able to renew his medical license, thus effectively barred him from practicing medicine in the Indonesia.[23]

References
  1. Ariska Puspita Anggraini; Sari Hardiyanto (23 October 2019). "Profil Dokter Terawan, Menteri Kesehatan Kabinet Indonesia Maju" (in Indonesian). Kompas.com. Archived from the original on 19 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  2. "Profil Dokter Terawan, Menteri Kesehatan Kabinet Indonesia Maju". Kompas. 23 October 2019. Archived from the original on 19 February 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  3. "Secretariat General and Chairmanship". cimm-icmm.org. CIMM ICMM. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  4. "Indonesian President Jokowi announces new Cabinet". The Straits Times. 23 October 2019. Archived from the original on 1 December 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  5. Mediatama, Grahanusa (25 October 2019). "Sebelum diangkat jadi menteri, Terawan diberi kenaikan pangkat luar biasa oleh Jokowi". kontan.co.id (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  6. "Jokowi : Dokter Terawan Sudah Punya Jurus Atasi Defisit BPJS Kesehatan". Bisnis.com. 6 December 2019. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  7. Putri, Cantika Adinda. "Cerita Kekecewaan Terawan yang 'Angkat Tangan' soal BPJS". news (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  8. Putri, Cantika Adinda. "Pengakuan Mengejutkan Terawan: Tak Punya Solusi Soal BPJS". news (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 31 May 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  9. "Menkes Terawan Jelaskan Pentingnya Evakuasi WNI di Kapal World Dream Didahulukan". Tribunnews.com (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  10. "Terawan: 238 WNI dari Natuna Sehat & Bebas Corona". news (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  11. Sihombing, Rolando Fransiscus. "Menkes: Kematian Gegara Flu Lebih Tinggi, Kenapa Heboh Corona Luar Biasa?". detiknews (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  12. Farmer, Brit McCandless. "March 2020: Dr. Anthony Fauci talks with Dr Jon LaPook about COVID-19". CBS. Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  13. "Menkes Soal Virus Corona: Orang Sehat Tak Perlu Pakai Masker". CNN. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  14. "Terawan must go, civil groups say, demanding crisis-sensitive health minister". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 17 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  15. "'It's meant to help': Harvard professor responds after government dismisses study on undetected coronavirus cases". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 28 April 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  16. "Menkes Terawan Tantang Harvard Cek Virus Corona di Indonesia". Liputan6 (in Indonesian). 12 February 2020. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  17. "Civil society coalition starts petition demanding dismissal of Health Minister Terawan". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  18. "Budi Gunadi Sadikin Gantikan Terawan Jadi Menkes". detikNews (in Indonesian). 22 December 2020. Archived from the original on 22 December 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  19. "'Brain wash' stroke treatment under scrutiny in Indonesia after inquiry". The Straits Times. 10 April 2018. Archived from the original on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  20. "Jabatan Menkesnya Ditolak IDI, Terawan Tak Ambil Pusing - Katadata.co.id". katadata.co.id (in Indonesian). 23 October 2019. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  21. "Despite health minister controversy, health priorities can't wait". Jakarta Post. 29 October 2019. Archived from the original on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  22. "IDI Resmi Pecat Dokter Terawan dari Keanggotaan". Detikcom (in Indonesian). 26 March 2022. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  23. Ramadhan, Azhar Bagas (26 March 2022). "Dipecat IDI, Eks Menkes Terawan Tak Bisa Lagi Urus Izin Praktik". Detikcom (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
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