Rumah Ganda (left), 65, the chief of neighborhood unit 008, community unit 003 in Cimahi hamlet of Wanakerta village, Bungursari district, Purwakarta regency, West Java, poses with a rice dispenser at his house in June. The dispenser distributes free rice to the poor, especially the elderly and orphans.
In Purwakarta, West Java, “ATMs” not only dispense money, but also rice. However, this facility is only available to local residents eligible to receive community rice aid for poor families, known as beras sejahtera (rastra).
Ganda, 65, the chief of neighborhood unit 008, community unit 003 (RT 008/RW 003) of Cimahi hamlet in Wanakerta village, Bungursari district, Purwakarta, had an automated rice dispenser installed at his house in early June. The village, located not far from the Purwakarta industrial estate, was chosen as an installation site, as its community still practices the perelek custom of collecting rice for distributing to the poor.
Perelek rice is collected either every day or every week from resident villagers. “The tradition has been going on for years. However, since an industrial estate was established in Purwakarta, we have obtained routine rice assistance from the factory,” Ganda said on Monday (4/9/2017).
Free rice is distributed for the poor, especially the elderly and orphans. After a sufficient amount of rice is set aside for the neighborhood’s four elderly residents and three orphans, the rice is allocated as wages for the neighborhood’s night security and other needs. “From the perelek, we have bought 100 plastic chairs that people can use for events,” Ganda added.
“Grandma” Onih, 70, a Wanakerta villager, was the first one to use the automated rice dispenser after the Purwakarta regency administration launched the rice aid program in early June. In the initial trial stage of the program, four rice dispensers were distributed to the Wanakerta, Dangdeur, Cibungur and Bungursari villages, all in Bungursari district, located 10 kilometers west of downtown Purwakarta.
During the trial period, Onih was perplexed by the automated machine, until Purwakarta Regent Dedi Mulyadi helped her insert her card into the machine and type in her PIN number. The machine is claimed to be the most sophisticated in the country.
“I am grateful for the free rice,” said Onih. The mother of two and grandmother of two used to purchase subsidized rice aid from village officials at Rp 2,500 (US 19 cents) per liter, relying on money that she received from her children and sometimes, from her neighbors.
Misuse
“Grandma” Onih is one of 46,582 rice aid beneficiaries in Purwakarta. Purwakarta administration data shows that this is less than 5 percent of the regency’s total population in the. Through the “rice ATM” program, the regency administration aims to ensure that by 2018, no Purwakarta resident will need to consume the rice aid distributed by the State Logistics Agency (Bulog).
In addition, the automated rice dispensers are hoped to shorten the supply chain of subsidized rice, which is often misused by village officials for personal profit. This corrupt behavior was found in several villages in Purwakarta.
Through the automated machines, the rice aid’s distribution is simplified. Village officials collect rice from residents capable of contributing and put the rice into the dispensers, which have a 300-kilogram capacity. Poor residents can then “withdraw” their share of rice from the dispensers. Each rice aid beneficiary receives 3 kilograms of rice for each “withdrawal”, and a maximum of 15 kilograms of rice per month.
The beneficiaries’ data is recorded properly under the program, ensuring that the assistance reaches its intended targets. “In the distribution of rice aid, there are always village officials who play with the system by selling rice not to its intended targets. Now, they cannot do that anymore. The rice distribution data is recorded real time,” said Dedi.
There are many potential sources for perelek rice. Apart from community leaders, there are also civil servants, schoolchildren and employees or workers at private companies. In relation to this, the Purwakarta administration has declared Thursday as “Compassion Day”. At the beginning, the program applied only to students and employees, with the goal of nurturing empathy for the poorer residents.
“This is part of our character-building education efforts. Each student has a \'foster sibling\' and the student provides their siblings with one cup of rice every Thursday,” said Dedi during the program’s launch at SMPN 5 Purwakarta public junior high school on Wednesday (6/9).
Students in each class are divided into several groups. Each group can have one or more foster siblings. These foster siblings are given rice aid every Thursday.
The Purwakarta Regent hoped the program would foster an empathetic and compassionate younger generation. The program is one of its efforts to urge its citizens to apply Pancasila values in their everyday lives.
Workers
Another source for beras perelek is workers who earn a minimum monthly wage of Rp 3 million. The Purwakarta Regent said that such workers could donate 0.25 liter of rice per week. Workers with earnings of at least Rp 5 million a month could donate 0.5 liter of rice, and those with monthly earnings of at least Rp 7 million could donate 0.75 liter of rice. Private sector employees with monthly earnings of at least Rp 10 million could donate 1 liter of rice every week.
Under a similar scheme, the program is also being applied to state-owned enterprises, the military and the police. Fuad BM, the head of the Purwakarta branch of the Federation of Indonesian Metal Workers Unions (FSPMI), responded positively to the program. He said that these days, the federation was oriented towards not only improving workers’ welfare but also the people’s welfare in general.
“We need to support the program, as it is really good at achieving sustainable community welfare,” he said.
The FSPMI participated in the first stage of the program on May Day this year and collected 4.8 tons of rice.
The rice was then distributed to rice aid beneficiaries in Purwakarta, in accordance with the administration’s data. The Purwakarta administration has continuously pushed for more effective collection and distribution of perelek rice in all villages.
The program is deemed highly strategic. If all financially capable residents donated perelek rice to poor residents, it is predicted that Purwakarta will no longer need to rely on national rice assistance by December 2017.
