There Was Extortion Of Food Subsidy Extortion In Koja Jakut, Acting Governor Heru: I Check

Acting Governor of DKI Jakarta Heru Budi Hartono (ANTARA/Siti Nurhaliza)

JAKARTA - Acting Governor of DKI Jakarta Heru Budi Hartono admitted that he would follow up on complaints of extortion in the implementation of the food subsidy program that occurred in Koja District, North Jakarta. "He said there was extortion, I also checked. Who is extortion. If my officers act," said Heru after a plenary meeting at the DKI Jakarta DPRD building, Monday, September 18. This extortion is said to have emerged because of the dense queues of residents who want to buy cheap food. In fact, it was reported that residents came to the location and started queuing since 3 am. Meanwhile, the sale of subsidized food only opened at 8 am. Heru admitted that he was aware of the booming queues for this cheap food program. Therefore, Heru admitted that he would summon the Food, Maritime and Agricultural Security Service (DKPKP) and the food BUMD to solve this problem. "That's a good input, it's not just in Koja, yesterday it was also in several places. Maybe the public's interest is too high. But later, I'll call the KPKP Service and everything," explained Heru. Previously, member of the PKS faction of the DKI Jakarta DPRD, Suhud Alynudin, complained about the practice of extortion in the implementation of the cheap food subsidy program held by the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government in Koja District, North Jakarta. This was revealed by Suhud in his interruption during the plenary meeting of the signing of the MoU for the draft General Policy of the APBD as well as the Priority Draft and Temporary Budget Ceiling of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Budget for the 2024 Fiscal Year. Suhud explained that this extortion was carried out by setting prices for residents who wanted to get queues first in buying these cheap foods. "The chaos in the field has also caused extortion. Through this forum, I would like to ask the chairman for permission for a short 1 minute to listen to any footage of extortion in the field," said Suhud at the DKI Jakarta DPRD Building. Suhud then played the voice recording on his cellphone and brought the sound closer to the microphone so that it could be heard throughout the room. In the recording, an unnamed resident admitted that he was offered Rp. 50,000 to be able to get a queue for cheap food purchases in the front row. Meanwhile, the back line is set at a price of Rp. 20,000. Residents who pay extortion do not need to queue at the location because extortionists place stones or sandals in their queue numbers. "That's leadership, reality on the ground. I hope the Acting Governor will immediately fix the chaotic distribution of food subsidies for the community," he said.

Responding to this, the Chairman of the DKI Jakarta DPRD, Prasetyo Edi Marsudi, who chaired the plenary meeting, then asked the Acting Governor of DKI Jakarta, Heru Budi Hartono, who was also present at the meeting to immediately take action against the extortion practice. "Please, Mr. Governor, please follow up. There are things that are not right in the field regarding food, yes," said Prasetyo before closing the plenary meeting.