SPHP Rice Used By Prabowo Gibran Campaign, Food Agency: Impossible

Head of the National Food Agency Arief Prasetyo Adi. (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Deputy I for Food Availability and Stabilization of the National Food Agency, I Gusti Ketut Astawa, assessed that Bulog's Food Stabilization and Food Price (SPHP) rice could not be used for campaigns.

The reason is, according to the rules, the purchase of rice is limited.

Ketut said one person could only buy a maximum of three sacks of 5 kilograms (kg) of SPHP rice either through traders or modern retailers.

While use for campaign requires a large amount.

"Because this is not abundant and limited, sales at traders are a maximum of 2 packs per person or 3 packs of people. So it is actually impossible for the SPHP rice to be used for campaign assistance," he said when contacted by VOI, Friday, January 26.

Ketut said that large purchasers of SPHP rice can only be done through Perum Bulog.

Meanwhile, buying through distributors or D1 is limited in amount to 3 tons of rice.

"Because if you can buy a lot, it must be from Bulog. From distributors, he gets at least 5 tons, 3 tons is maximal, so once again if the goal is for a campaign, it's impossible," he said.

"Because it is impossible for him to get much, while from Bulog it is impossible for him to obtain. Because it is impossible for him to take (via Bulog) in the context of a campaign," he continued.

Karena itu, Ketut mengaku akan meminta Perum Bulog untuk melakukan pengawasan dan memastikan bahwa beras yang keluar dari gudang Bulog tidak digunakan untuk kampanye.

"We assigned Bulog, then Bulog evaluated, investigated whether the path they made was correct or not. Then we reminded Bulog there was something happening, monitoring, right, not your distribution. Is it in the middle of something wrong, if it means reprimanding. Because there is a sanction if it is wrong in the middle, he will not be given as a D1 or a distribution of SPHP rice," he said.

However, said Ketut, if the SPHP rice has been distributed from distributors or traders to consumers and is already in the hands of consumers, it is no longer the responsibility of the Food Agency or Bulog.

"When they were consumers they gathered and did this (used campaign), it was beyond our (authority)," he explained.