JAKARTA: Indonesia’s transport minister Dudy Purwagandhi (pic) has proposed implementing a nationwide work-from-anywhere (WFA) policy ahead of Nyepi (Balinese day of silence), which falls on March 29 in 2025, and Idul Fitri on March 31 and April 1.
The proposed WFA policy is intended to alleviate traffic congestion in the country as hundreds of millions of people participate in the annual Idul Fitri tradition of mudik (exodus).
In 2024, approximately 242 million of Indonesia’s 280 million people participated in mudik, the largest in the country’s history, following years of activity restrictions resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We propose that from March 24 to March 27, WFA be implemented. Employees in other ministries can also encourage their staff to work from various locations,” Dudy said on Jan 23 during a meeting with House of Representatives Commission V overseeing infrastructure and transportation.
President Prabowo previously designated March 28 as an additional holiday for Nyepi, and April 2 to 7 as an extended leave period for Idul Fitri.
Ministries are still discussing the proposed WFA policy, and Dudy said he hoped for support from the House.
The transport ministry plans to discuss the possibility of extending the WFA policy to the private sector with the manpower ministry and business stakeholders.
Dudy said that if WFA were enacted at that scale, it would help authorities manage the influx of travelers during the Idul Fitri holiday. A surge in travellers could lead to severe congestion at key transportation points such as ferry crossings and airports, he added. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
