"We are grateful that today, the oxygen we bought from Malaysia has arrived. We are supported by Governor of West Kalimantan Sutarmidji on behalf of the West Kalimantan Provincial Government, West Kalimantan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Malaysian Consul, Sarawak Government, and other related parties," he remarked.
Yonestulin spoke of his party prioritizing the distribution of oxygen to every pharmacy in West Kalimantan in a bid to prevent the buildup of spiraling queues for oxygen.
"Now, we can see the condition wherein oxygen is difficult to find, and there are only a few distributors, who sell it. Hence, people are making long queues. However, if oxygen is evenly distributed to pharmacies and the people can obtain it easily, then of course, they will not queue up anymore," he explained.
Yonestulin pointed to it being the first time that his side had brought in oxygen from Malaysia. Oxygen has, so far, always been bought from Jakarta or other oxygen producers in Indonesia.
"For imports, this is our first time, but in future, it is likely to continue because the process is faster, considering how close West Kalimantan and Sarawak are. Meanwhile, if we buy oxygen from Java, it takes a long time, and problems are often encountered in shipping," he stated.
At the same place, the Malaysian Consulate in Pontianak, Mohiuddin Ghazali, highlighted the increasingly close relations between Malaysia and Indonesia, in particular, as they are two neighboring nations that share several similarities.
"The Indonesian government, especially West Kalimantan, has, so far, enjoyed close relations with Sarawak. Hence, we can help and cooperate for speeding up the distribution of oxygen," he stated.
Ghazali was upbeat about more opportunities for collaboration in future, so that both nations can develop closer relations and jointly boost public welfare. Related news: Government ensures sufficient availability of oxygen cylinders in Palu
Related news: Surabaya's Lapangan Tembak Hospital readies 100 oxygen concentrators
Translator: Rendra Oxtora, Raka Adji
Editor: Suharto
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