Call The Minister Of Agriculture To Discuss Oplosan Food Station Rice, Pramono Says This

DKI Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung. (Diah-VOI)

JAKARTA - DKI Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung admitted that he had contacted the Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman some time ago to discuss the case of mixed rice that dragged PT Food Station Tjipinang Jaya, one of the DKI BUMDs.

When contacting Amran last week, Pramono was on a working visit to New York, United States. To Amran, Pramono handed over all follow-up findings of violating the quality of rice to the Ministry of Agriculture and the authorities.

"Before I arrived in Jakarta, I communicated with the Minister of Agriculture. Whatever is the direction and at the same time the findings are, so I said it should not be covered up," said Pramono at DKI Jakarta City Hall, Wednesday, July 23.

According to Pramono, all parties involved in the adulterated rice case, including their subordinates at the Food Station, should be held accountable.

However, Pramono also gave the Food Station the opportunity to clarify the issue and reveal the real evidence if they feel innocent. This was said by Pramono when calling the President Director of PT Food Station on Tuesday, July 22.

"I also then said, 'if all of you don't do what you think, then it must be conveyed as it is'," said Pramono.

"Because the Food Station Tjipinang is one of the things that then keeps prices in Jakarta and also so that inflation does not rise high, then they have a significant contribution to it," he added.

Previously, the Head of the Ministry of Agriculture's Communication and Information Service Bureau, Moch Arief Cahyono, said that rice samples from the Food Station had been tested in five independent laboratories.

The test results showed that several brands such as Alfamidi Setra Pulen and Beras Premium Setra Ramos did not meet the quality requirements as premium rice in accordance with applicable regulations.

In addition, it was found that the product was sold beyond the highest retail price (HET) set by the government.

"If the Food Station needs a copy of the laboratory data, please contact the National Police Headquarters Food Task Force. They already have all the test results and are investigating these findings," said Arief in a written statement.

The Ministry of Agriculture also highlighted other information circulating in the media regarding the alleged practice of mixing rice at the Cipinang Rice Main Market.

A trader revealed that there was an order of 10 tons of rice from one of the members of the DKI Jakarta DPRD which was packaged in 2,000 sacks measuring five kilograms. Each sack contains a mixture of various types of rice, allegedly to reduce prices and reap greater profits.

"We urge PT Food Station Tjipinang Jaya and related parties to immediately focus on improving product quality. Instead of being busy fending off issues in the media, we want to see concrete steps to ensure the quality of rice according to standards and prices remain reasonable for the community," said Arief.