Extortion Of Extortion Queues For Jakarta Residents Subsidy, Wants To Pay IDR 50 Thousand Faster

JAKARTA - Member of the PKS faction of the DKI Jakarta DPRD, Suhud Alynudin, complained about the practice of extortion in the implementation of the cheap food subsidy program held by the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government in Koja District, North Jakarta.

This was revealed by Suhud in his interruption during the plenary meeting of the signing of the MoU for the draft General Policy of the APBD as well as the Priority Draft and Temporary Budget Ceiling of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Budget for the 2024 Fiscal Year.

Suhud explained that this extortion was carried out by setting prices for residents who wanted to get queues first in buying the cheap food.

"The chaos in the field has also caused extortion. Through this forum, I would like to ask the chairman for permission for a short 1 minute to listen to any footage of extortion in the field," said Suhud at the DKI Jakarta DPRD building, Monday, September 18.

Suhud then played the voice recording on his cellphone and brought the sound closer to the microphone so that it could be heard throughout the room.

In the recording, an unnamed resident admitted that he was offered Rp. 50,000 to be able to get a queue for cheap food purchases in the front row.

Meanwhile, the back line is set at a price of Rp. 20,000. Residents who pay extortion do not need to queue at the location because extortionists place stones or sandals in their queue numbers.

"That's leadership, reality on the ground. I hope the Acting Governor will immediately fix the chaotic distribution of food subsidies for the community," he said.

Responding to this, the Chairman of the DKI Jakarta DPRD, Prasetyo Edi Marsudi, who chaired the plenary meeting, then asked the Acting Governor of DKI Jakarta, Heru Budi Hartono, who was also present at the meeting to immediately take action against the extortion practice.

"Please, Mr. Governor, please follow up. There are things that are not right in the field regarding food, yes," said Prasetyo before closing the plenary meeting.

For information, the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government is holding a subsidized low-cost food program which is usually held every month. This program targets low-income people who are included in the recipients of social assistance (bansos).

In this cheap food program, residents can buy a number of foodstuffs below the market price. Among them are 1 kilogram of beef at a price of Rp. 35 thousand, 1 kilogram of chicken meat Rp. 8 thousand, 15 eggs Rp. 10 thousand, 5 kilograms of premium rice Rp. 30 thousand, 1 kilogram of convex fish Rp. 13 thousand, and 1 carton of UHT milk Rp. 30 thousand.