IO, Jakarta – The Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) has stated that the deaths of 583 Voting Organizers Group (KPPS) personnel were not the sole result of exhaustion. IDI Chairman Daeng M. Faqih stated that exhaustion was one factor in triggering diseases or psychological illnesses which could cause death.
Other than exhaustion, it is certain that there were other factors which could also have helped cause the deaths. “Exhaustion isn’t a direct cause of sudden death but can be one of the triggering factors,” said Daeng when reading the conclusion of a discussion in the IDI Central Management Building on Monday (13/5).
IDI Advisory Council member Zubairi Djoerban stated he believed that the exhaustion experienced by the KPPS personnel triggered heart problems to strokes as some were detected in some of the deaths. Zubairi says that he is sure the personnel already had the diseases before working in the KPPS.
However, the workload experienced for days on end could trigger the diseases suffered by the KPPS personnel to a worse stage. As a result, when the work load was too much it could be said to be the cause of death. “Exhaustion triggers people who already have heart disease for that heart disease to appear. They can do normal daily activities even though sick but when the workload is high the disease appears,” said Zubairi. “This exhaustion causes the heart to weaken with some triggering strokes,” he added.
Other than exhaustion, Zubaidi also highlighted other triggers such as coffee and cigarettes. If one of the personnel had diabetes, both these factors could result in it worsening. Especially, when one of the personnel had been working days on end in the KPPS. “If suffering from Diabetes, smoking and working for days can be a cause of sudden death,” said Zubairi.
Other than that, Zubaidi also stated that there needed to be more data as there was a possibility that the deaths of the KPPS personnel were related to physical and emotional stress.
In several meetings, Zubairi admitted he would be surprised if a cause of the deaths of the KPPS personnel included suicide or accidents. According to him, this could not be ignored and the government needed to create a special team to investigate the deaths, which happened in a large number and in a short time span. “In causes of death there are many things that can happen. Triggers can be exhaustion, dehydration, physical stress to emotional problems,” said Zubairi. (dsy)