BUMN Status Will Be Revoked, Bulog Can No More Commercial Business

Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan. (Photo: Mery Handayani/VOI)

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan revealed that the government will start the institutional transformation process at Perum Bulog. Later, Bulog will no longer run a commercial business.

Zulhas, as he is familiarly called, said that Bulog could no longer run commercial businesses because it would be changed to a government badah.

"It has to be a transformation of the institution, it can't be commercial anymore. If commercially buys people's corn, buys unhulled rice sometimes, Bulog gets lucky or loses? If the loss is checked, it's difficult," he said after a limited coordination meeting (Rakortas) on food at the Coordinating Ministry for Food, Jakarta, Thursday, November 21.

However, Zulhas said that currently the Bulog Stasus is still a state-owned enterprise (BUMN) under the auspices of the Ministry of SOEs.

"Still (under the Ministry of SOEs), it hasn't (changed). This is new, just our meeting. Still, until there is a change," he explained.

Previously, the President Director of Perum Bulog Wahyu Suparyono said, Bulog would switch to autonomous body, so that it would no longer be under the Ministry of SOEs.

Bulog's status will be like the National Nutrition Agency under President Prabowo Subianto. This transformation will be regulated through a Presidential Decree (Keppres).

Regarding this plan, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir provided support if later Perum Bulog became an autonomous body directly under the President.

"I also heard (about) Bulog, there is a Commission in the DPR, he said it had started working on it as a body and I agree," said Erick as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, November 8.

Bulog's plan to transition from Perum to an autonomous body, said Erick, is an effort to realize President Prabowo Subianto's big program to make food self-sufficiency a success.

Dengan Bulog menjadi sebuah badan, maka Perum tersebut dapat mengendalikan fluktuasi harga pangan yang selama ini sulit dilakukan olehnya.

"If we talk about big programs, Mr. President Prabowo is talking about food self-sufficiency, it's impossible if there is no body that can operate the market," said Erick.