Disunity on Full Display

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

President director of state logistic company Bulog Budi Waseso (center) explains a number of work plans to journalists in Jakarta on Monday, May. 14, 2018. Bulog will strengthen its rice and unhusked rice procurement network through partnerships with a number of farmer groups and institutions, including the the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police.

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History has repeated itself. Ministers in the Working Cabinet are openly arguing with each other. This time around, it is about rice imports.

The debate on whether or not rice imports are necessary continues in the Working Cabinet under President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla. Harsh and sometimes emotional quarrels are recorded digitally at all times. From their choice of words and strength of arguments and data, the general public can assess the quality of our state organizers.

The debate this time is centered on Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita and State Logistics Agency (Bulog) head Budi Waseso, with Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman and Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution being dragged in. The polarization of opinions between ministers has attracted the attention of certain observers, mainly lawmakers. The public can only sigh in disbelief at the political infighting, with some laughing bitterly.

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

A trader waits for buyers at Matahari rice shop in Kebayoran market in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta, on Sunday, Aug. 26, 2018. The rice price at the retail level has increased by Rp 500 per kilogram. The dry season has led to a decrease in the supply of rice.

Wars of words between ministers are nothing new. Previously, then-Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said fought with former Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Rizal Ramli – until President Jokowi replaced both of them. This time, the public is still waiting to find out how President Jokowi and Vice President Jusuf Kalla will resolve the debate on rice imports, which appears to have been triggered by conflicting data on national rice stocks.

President Jokowi’s economic adviser, Ahmad Erani Yustika, said the President would address the rice import controversy in due course. “More comprehensive data and coordination is necessary on this. At the right time, the President will deliver a public statement,” Erani said. Nobody knows when President Jokowi will resolve this infighting between his servants. The longer it persists, the bigger its negative impact will be on the public perception of the President’s leadership.

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

Members of the Central Inflation Control Team (TPIP), which consists of Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo (left), Finance Minister Sri Mulyani (center) and Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita, speak at a press conference after a meeting at the Office of the Coordinating Economic Ministry in Jakarta, Friday, Aug. 24, 2018. The government is trying to keep the inflation rate this year at a low level or in line with the target of 3.5 percent. Short-term measures to control food price inflation are carried out by maintaining rice reserves and the food commodity supply.

Expensive rice is a crucial issue that can lead to social unrest. The government must anticipate this. Rice must always be available, whether through domestic production or imports. If there is a surplus in domestic rice production, imports will not be necessary. We can even export our rice. However, if our anticipatory effort find that rice supplies will be disrupted for various reasons, we need efforts to ensure the availability of rice. Herein lies the importance of production and consumption data.

Whose data should we trust? Bulog’s? The Agriculture Ministry’s? The Statistics Indoensia’s (BPS)? Observers’? In political contestations and amid the sociological reality of communication in our heterogeneous society, differences of data can lead to debates.

In a presidential system of government, ministers and the Bulog head are servants of the President. With his authority, President Jokowi can call upon every one of them, check their data and decide what to do next. If the President decides to import rice, everyone should abide by it. On the contrary, if the President decides not to import, everyone should also abide by it. President Joko Widodo alone is responsible for the smooth governance of the state.

KOMPAS/IQBAL BASYARI

Dozens of East Javanese people demonstrate in front of the East Java Governor\'s Office in Surabaya on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. They expressed their opposition to the rice import policy when the harvest period was approaching as they considered it to be detrimental to farmers.