DPR Speaker: Cooking Oil Scarcity Can Cause Upheaval

The chairman of the DPR, Puan Maharani, checks the supply of cooking oil in one of the markets. ANTARA/HO-Secretary General of DPR RI

JAKARTA - DPR Speaker Puan Maharani warned that the scarcity of cooking oil in the market, as a result of the implementation of the highest retail price (HET) policy, could potentially cause public order problems.

"The problem of prolonged cooking oil can cause new problems, namely noise due to the scarcity of stock in the market. This must be addressed immediately because it affects public order which can have a wide impact," said Puan in a written statement quoted by Antara, Thursday, March 10.

The government set the HET for cooking oil at Rp. 14 thousand/liter after the increase in commodity prices became an obstacle.

After the stipulation of the policy, cooking oil stocks suddenly became scarce in the market, causing panic in the community.

In various retail or supermarkets, people can also be seen fighting over when there is a stock of cooking oil. Puan assessed that such an incident was quite vulnerable from various perspectives.

"In Lubuklinggau we saw a lot of people crowding, there was even a commotion due to the operation of a cheap cooking oil market. If the scarcity of cooking oil continues, it will not only lead to a COVID-19 cluster, but also public order problems," he explained.

The scarcity of cooking oil also causes various other problems, he added, such as the emergence of individuals who sell cooking oil mixed with water.

In addition, there are also many people who sell cooking oil at high prices. In fact, he said, the scarcity of cooking oil should not have occurred after the implementation of the domestic market obligation (DMO) policy which had distributed more than 391 million liters.

He said the cause of the shortage of cooking oil was due to distribution problems. Apart from that, he added, it is also due to smuggling, either sold abroad or to industrial markets.

"Cases of hoarding cooking oil are found everywhere. Distribution supervision is still not optimal and it causes difficulties for the community," he said.

Puan also asked law enforcement officials to thoroughly investigate the individuals who took advantage of the situation to make cooking oil even more scarce. In addition, he asked the government to take firm action against those who sell cooking oil above the HET.

"Take action on speculators who hoard and play with the price of cooking oil. Those who play in the interests of the people must be properly rewarded," he said.

The House of Representatives continues to monitor the issue of cooking oil that is not over, he said, among others, by going directly to the market to review the stock of the commodity.

"Many residents complained when they met me at the market, including small traders who had difficulty getting cooking oil stocks. Even though when I checked with the producers at the factory, they stated that production was running normally," he explained.

Therefore, Puan asked the government to pay attention to this problem, so that the scarcity of cooking oil does not continue.

"Including what should be paid attention to is the report from the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU), which found a number of minimarkets or supermarkets selling cooking oil under certain conditions," he said.

Certain conditions in question, such as cooking oil, can be purchased if the customer makes a shopping transaction with a certain nominal value or must be accompanied by a purchase with other products.

"Of course this kind of practice should not happen because it is increasingly burdensome for the community. The problem of scarcity of cooking oil is serious, a solution must be found immediately so that the stock in the market and the price return to normal," he said.