As A Result Of The Case Of IMEI Rules, The Ministry Of Industry Advises People To Buy Cellphones In Official Places

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry Febri Hendri Antoni Arif. (Photo: Theresia Agatha/VOI)

The Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) appealed to the public not to buy mobile phone products from the black market (black market).

This follows a case of illegal International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) registration in the Centralized Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) system.

"If you buy a cellphone at an official place, don't black market," said Ministry of Industry spokesman Febri Hendri Antoni Arif to reporters at the Ministry of Industry Building, Jakarta, Monday, July 31.

Febri appealed to the public to be careful when buying manufactured goods, especially in purchasing cellphones.

"You have to check the IMEI and if you can buy it on the official route," he said.

As previously reported, the Minister of Industry (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said that he had heard that there were employees who had been named as suspects in the case of violating IMEI rules.

The suspects announced were employees of the Ministry of Industry at the Directorate General of Metal, Machinery, Transportation Equipment, and Electronics (ILMATE) Industry.

According to Agus, the demolition of cases of violation of IMEI rules began with his initiative. He admitted that he had been teased by several businessmen to be involved in "reversing" IMEI regulations aimed at preventing the circulation of illegal imported cellphones.

He stated that some of the businessmen were looking for colleagues at the Ministry of Industry and claimed to already have "people" in other institutions to be able to access IMEI tracking machines.

Agus suspects that there are other parties who have access to the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) machine, namely the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, the Ministry of Communication and Information (Kominfo), and cellular operators.

"I was once teased by 'playing' IMEI. I tested them, do you already have access to the institutions I mentioned earlier. They answered they already had it, this is just living in the Ministry of Industry," Agus said in an online press conference, Friday, July 28.

The CEIR machine itself is a tool used to store data and monitor cellphones throughout Indonesia using IMEI.