Reshuffle And Cooking Oil Problem

Zulkifli Hasan. (Antara Photo)

President Jokowi has again reshuffled his cabinet. Two ministers were removed, namely the Minister of Trade (Mendag) M Lutfhi replaced by the General Chair of PAN Zulkifli Hasan and the Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Planning/Chairman of the National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) Sofyan Djalil replaced by former TNI Commander Marshal (Ret.) Hadi Tjahjanto.

In addition, the deputy minister (wamen) in Jokowi's cabinet also underwent a reshuffle. First, PSI Supervisory Board Secretary Raja Juli Antoni was inaugurated as Deputy Minister of ATR/BPN, replacing fellow PSI cadre Surya Tjandra who had held the position since 2019.

Then, Deputy Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) John Wempi Watipo was inaugurated as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs (Wamendagri) and Secretary-General of the Crescent Star Party (PBB) Afriansyah Noor as Deputy Minister of Manpower. The two of them occupied the vacant deputy ministerial seats.

In his statement, the Cabinet Secretary Minister (Menseskab) Pramono Anung assessed that the president's cabinet reshuffle was not a sudden thing. It has been carefully considered. According to Pramono to a number of journalists, the president needs some kind of refreshing from several ministers and deputy ministers. Even if it's done in mid-June, it's just momentum.

Actually, in 2022, the issue of the reshuffle has surfaced several times. At almost the same time there was a shortage of cooking oil. If anything, the price has skyrocketed. At that time, the issue of reshuffle arose. Many have said that the Minister of Trade, M Luthfi, will be removed to be replaced by the General Chair of PAN, Zulkifli Hasan. It became even more widespread when a number of Jokowi's ministers who served as party leaders, including Zulkifli Hasan in his capacity as the General Chair of PAN, spoke about extending the presidential term.

Cooking oil

Apart from political issues, the change of the Minister of Trade from M Luthfi to Zulkifli Hasan was one of the highlights. Especially if it's not about cooking oil. Because this cooking oil is still a problem. President Jokowi had banned the export of Crude Palm Oil (CPO), which is the main raw material for cooking oil. Market operations are carried out frequently. Officials at the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) and a number of high-ranking cooking oil companies were investigated and detained in relation to CPO exports.

After the highest retail price (HET) was lifted and cooking oil prices were based on market prices, cooking oil flooded the market again with prices that made many mothers scream.

Recently, the ban on the export of cooking oil raw materials was lifted. The President asked firmly that this cooking oil issue be addressed immediately. The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Menko Marves) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has again received a task from Jokowi to secure this cooking oil issue. The step was taken by the main minister who is often called the media "Lord" and the minister of all affairs will conduct an audit of the cooking oil company. This includes prohibiting bulk cooking oil.

Zulkifli Hasan himself after being sworn in as Minister of Trade moved quickly. In 100 days, his first task is to solve the problem of cooking oil, which is still high. He also made visits to various traditional markets to monitor prices in the field.

Zulkifli Hasan or often called Zulhas admitted that he already had a scenario to solve the cooking oil problem in the country. This is in line with the government's plan to phase out bulk cooking oil. Zulhas even admitted that he had met with palm oil business actors before being appointed as minister. The priority scale is to meet the president's expectation that the price of cooking oil is IDR 14,000 thousand per liter.

It is a tough task for Zulkifli Hasan to solve this cooking oil problem. It's not just an inspection of the markets or just rhetoric. There must be a definite policy so that the problem of cooking oil does not drag on. There must be concrete steps, for example, if you want to go to extremes, if the world market price is high, the export tax on cooking oil is raised so that domestic supply is secure. Also, in the short term, the market operations will be intensified. Apart from that, there must be synergy with the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs, who was appointed by the president to resolve the cooking oil problem. Don't rely on each other.