After Pertamax Oplosan Terbit Minya Kita Was Cheated, Public Trust In The Government Was Getting More And More Erupted

Residents fried banana chips using cooking oil from the Minita brand in Plungmpung Hamlet, Galengdowo Village, Wonosalam District, Jombang Regency, East Java. (ANTARA/Syaiful Arif/tom/pri)

JAKARTA After being shocked by the alleged Pertamax Oplosan Oil Fuel (BBM) by Pertamina, now the public is said to have lost again because of the smaller volume of Minya Kita packaging than the label. Do the public still believe in the government?

Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman found that there was a discrepancy in the packaging of Minyakitan brand cooking oil. He found that there was a volume of Minya Kita which was less than 1 liter, although the label statement stated so.

This was found by Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran during an inspection at Pasar Jaya Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta. He packaged 1 liter of Oil into a measuring cup and after measuring it turned out that there were only 740-800 milliliters.

"The contents are not enough for one liter, only 750-800 milliliters, this is not enough for one liter," said Minister of Agriculture Amran while showing a measuring cup containing Oilita, at Lenteng Agung Market, Jakarta, Saturday (8/3/2025).

In addition, he also found that the 1 liter packaged Minya Kita was sold above the Highest Retail Price (HET). In his findings, Minya Kita was sold for Rp. 18,000 per liter, even though the HET determined by the government was Rp. 15,700. He also asked the Food Task Force to take firm action.

Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman conducted an inspection after in the last few days the Indonesian people were shocked by a video showing the discrepancy of the content of Minya Kita with what was stated on the label. A social media user poured a 1 liter package into a measuring cup, and the results obtained turned out that the oil contained only 750 militaries to 800 milliliters.

This video, which immediately went viral, again sparked anger from netizens against the government. Even though recently, the public was also shocked by the Pertamax case at Pertamina so that the quality purchased was allegedly lower than it should have been.

Nailul Huda economist from the Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS) said that the incompatibility of volume in Minya Kita packaging adds to the long list of problems in product management under government policy.

"People's trust in products from the government can greatly decline. Yesterday, we were shocked by the case of fuel oil which was allegedly mixed which reduced the quality of the fuel purchased. Now, Minya Kita producers are reducing the volume of purchases that are also detrimental to the community," Nailul Huda told VOI.

If this condition is left without firm action, Huda assesses that the public will increasingly doubt the government's policy in managing basic needs. They feel that they do not get proper protection as consumers.

"People buy government policy products that are not appropriate from both prices and quantities. The government needs stricter supervision in production to distribution of policy products," he said.

For this reason, the government is asked to carry out stricter supervision in all of our Minya Kita's production and distribution chains. Not only for Minya Kita, but also for other products under government policies such as those that had shocked some time ago, namely BBM Pertamax and Pertalite.

"BBM Pertamax and Pertalite, to Minya We need stricter supervision. All those involved must be punished in accordance with applicable law," said Huda.

The government also has an obligation to compensate for the losses suffered by the community due to the discrepancy in the volume of Oilita.

Without decisive steps, similar incidents can continue to repeat, harm the public, and weaken public confidence in government policies in managing basic needs.

The government through the Ministry of Trade launched the Minya Kita people's cooking oil on July 6, 2022. Minya Kita is distributed to make it easier for people to get cooking oil at low prices.

Minya Kita cooking oil is sold in the form of pillow packs, standing vouchers, bottles, and jerry cans that are half-food graded.

Because of this, the occurrence of volume discrepancies provides a big advantage for irresponsible parties. On the other hand, the community is greatly disadvantaged by this case, especially those from the lower middle class who do depend on Minya Kita for their daily needs.

If the price of the Minya Kita HET is Rp. 15,700 per liter, while the volume lost in each packaging is 250 ml, then the community will suffer a loss of around Rp. 3,925 per liter.

That's if people buy it according to HET. Even though it is known, not a few have to spend more to get Minya Kita.

With less volume than it should be, people should buy more to meet their needs. This means that people must spend more money, when it should be used for other needs.

As a result, people's purchasing power is not optimal.

"When there is a discrepancy in the volume of oil, they will definitely buy more than they should. This means that there is more income that they spend to buy Oilita according to their needs," Huda concluded.