Moeldoko Asks The Food Task Force To Brush The Cooking Oil Mafia Complained By The Trade Minister

Presidential Chief of Staff (KSP) Moeldoko in Gianyar, Bali, Friday (18/3). (Photo by Dafi VOIi).

GIANYAR - Presidential Chief of Staff (KSP) Moeldoko responded to the alleged cooking oil mafia. This is related to Customs officers finding cooking oil ready for export at Tanjung Priok Port, in Jakarta.

"I think the food task force that has been formed will work even harder to overcome this situation," said Moeldoko in Gianyar, Bali, Friday, March 18.

According to Moeldoko, the decision to revoke the Highest Retail Price (HET) for premium packaged cooking oil is expected to overcome the scarcity.

"Hopefully, with HET for premium products, no one will store the goods anymore, they have just released it to the market, because it is no longer a loss for the producer. Previously, there were losses from the raw CPO being processed, the selling price was limited by HET," he said.

"For the premium one, it feels like a loss for the manufacturer. But this release, the hope is to open the door for producers to no longer hold back their goods," continued Moeldoko.

He emphasized that if there were deviations until the cooking oil mafia was found, the Food Task Force would act decisively.

"Surely (decisive action will be taken). The task force will take firm action if the policy is enforced with various brushes," he said.

The Investigation Team of the DKI Jakarta High Prosecutor's Office (Kejati) confiscated a container unit with a load of 1,835 cartons of cooking oil which was indicated to be against the law at the Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT) I Tanjung Priok Port.

"There are 1,835 cartons of packaged cooking oil of certain brands which will be illegally exported by PT AMJ together with other companies to the destination country of Hong Kong," said Head of the Attorney General's Office for Legal Information Center (Kapuspenkum Kejagung) Ketut Sumedana quoted by Antara, Thursday, 17 March.

He revealed that the export of one container of packaged cooking oil that will be carried out by PT AMJ is indicated to be against the law because it was carried out in violation of the provisions of the applicable laws and regulations.

The Investigation Team of the DKI Jakarta High Prosecutor's Office conveyed to the Tanjung Priok Type A Customs and Excise Main Service Office the findings of the 1 container unit to be secured and not transferred or removed from the JICT I Container Terminal until the legal process is complete.

"The exports that have been and will be carried out by PT AMJ have an impact on the country's economy due to the scarcity of packaged cooking oil in Indonesia," he said.

PT AMJ's actions are estimated to give PT AMJ an illegal profit of IDR 400 million per container.