Highlighting The Case Of Minya Kita, Puan Asks The Government To Increase Supervision

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Puan Maharani/PHOTO via Instagram @puanmaharaniri

JAKARTA - The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, highlighted cases of fraud in the distribution of Minya Kita, ranging from reducing the dose to the circulation of fake Minya Kita on the market.

Puan assessed that the practice of oplosan to reduce the dose of Minya Kita was due to a lack of supervision from the government.

"The case of reducing the dose and forgery of Minya Kita must be a lesson so that food product supervision is further improved, so that it does not lead to abuse that harms the people," said DPR Speaker Puan Maharani, Friday, March 14.

Puan also reminded that if the government does not act decisively and improve the supervision system, then public trust in the food aid program will decrease.

Therefore, Puan asked law enforcement officials to take firm action against all parties involved in the case of fraudulent distribution of MinyaKita. He also encouraged law enforcement to investigate the entire distribution chain that allows fraudulent practices to occur.

"If only the perpetrators at the lower level are ensnared, while the bigger party escapes responsibility, then justice will not really be upheld. The state must ensure that people's welfare and justice are not sacrificed just because of weak supervision," he stressed.

It is known that the National Police's Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) has named 14 company directors as suspects in the mismatch between the Minya Kita's dose and the packaging label. The mode of the subsidized cooking oil production plant is to circumcise the contents of 1 liter packaging to 750-800 milliliters.

The police have also dismantled a fake Minya Kita production site with an Turnover of hundreds of millions per month in Cijujung, Sukaraja District, Bogor Regency, West Java. One perpetrator with the initials TRM was arrested and named a suspect.

The perpetrator's mode of repackaging is suspected to be bulk oil. Perpetrators get bulk oil from various regions ranging from Tangerang to Cakung. Then the perpetrator and five other workers repackaged by labeling Minya Kita, and only filled with 750 milliliters, not one liter.

Similar practices also occurred in Depok, West Java. The Directorate of Special Economic Crimes (Dittipideksus) of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police revealed the case of misappropriation of subsidized cooking oil of MinyaKita at a factory in Depok, West Java. The contents of MinyaKita were circumcised by repackaging oil into packages that did not match the measurement on the label. The police named AWI, the owner of the MinyaKita factory in Depok as a suspect.

The PDIP legislator for the Central Java electoral district assessed that the series of cases of forgery of Minya Kita showed that so far there was a gap in the supervisory side that could be used by irresponsible persons to gain profits.

Therefore, Puan emphasized that the government must evaluate the lack of maximum supervision system that allows perpetrators to falsify the contents of Minya Kita without being detected from the start.

"Minya Kita is a Government program that aims to provide cheap cooking oil for the community, especially the lower middle class. If this product is manipulated, then the impact will be very detrimental to the people, both in terms of quality and price," said the chairman of the PDIP DPP.

To prevent similar cases from happening again, Puan also asked Commission IX of the DPR in partnership with BPOM to be involved in regular surveillance and inspection. He is worried that the circulation of fake Minya Kita will have an impact on public health.

"BPOM must increase supervision and periodic inspection of food products in all production and distribution lines. This includes checking other cooking oil brands. And of course the DPR will participate in supervising to ensure that people are not harmed again," said Puan.

In addition, the Ministry of Trade together with the Food Task Force are reminded to create a more transparent monitoring system. That way, said Puan, each subsidized product distribution chain can be closely monitored.

"The supervisory system must be strengthened to anticipate fraudulent practices that harm the public as consumers," explained the former Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture.

"Heavi punishment for fraud perpetrators of product doses and food counterfeiting must also be ensured in order to provide a deterrent effect and there is no gap for similar practices in the future," concluded Puan.

For information, today the leadership of the DPR is reviewing Kramat Jati Market, East Jakarta to check the standardization of the Minya Kita dose.

During this inspection, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, together with the leadership and ranks of Commission VI of the House of Representatives, found packaged cooking oil other than the Minya Kita brand, which also did not match the amount capacity.