Hi folks,
No shortage of drama this week with the cooking oil saga dominating the first quarter of the year and dragging the Trade Minister into the ugly debate after his words during parliamentary questioning session were understood as an acknowledgement that the government has no power to stop illegal stockpiling and unauthorized exports. Former President Megawati just had to weigh in with her out of touch comments too. Fun times all around.
Meanwhile, the Religious Ministry is being accused of asserting Javanese supremacy, and the country’s first MotoGP event in 25 years presented an international stage to our famous rain shamans. And these are just the big stories.
Cooking Oil Drama
The price of cooking oil skyrocketed by up to 200% this week after Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi announced that the government has decided to remove the maximum price cap, which was previously set at Rp14,000 per liter.
The government did however maintain a price cap for unbranded, generic cooking oil sold at traditional markets although consumers now have to pay Rp14,000 per liter and not the old price of Rp11,500.
The decision came after weeks of cooking oil shortage all across Indonesia which led to long queues, people fighting over the precious commodity and in some cases scuffles and chaos. There were even instances of people who had medical conditions dying while waiting for their turn to buy the scarce goods.
Get this, just hours after the government removed the price cap, cooking oil flooded the market, leading to suspicions that this whole thing was the doing of the so-called “cooking oil mafia” creating shortages by holding back on distribution and stockpiling the goods.
Trade Minister Lutfi also said there were mafiosos behind the scarcity adding that the police is now building a case against these hoarders. The parliament announced that they are also forming a special committee to get to the bottom of the shortage.
Consumer rights advocate Tulus Pribadi said the minister is also to blame because he buckled under pressure by removing the price cap to the hoarders’ benefit. And besides many of these public officials and politicians are also palm oil plantation owners. What are they doing to ensure us commoners can still enjoy our daily dose of cheap gorengans?
But all this commotion didn’t seem to bother former president Megawati Soekarnoputri who said that she is scratching her head why people are so addicted to cooking oil.
“Do women only fry (food) everyday that they fought (over cooking oil)? Is there no way to boil, steam, or make rujak?" said Megawati, Indonesia’s fifth president, the daughter of Indonesia’s first president, the widow of a wealthy businessman, the late Taufik Kiemas, the mother of the Speaker of the House, Puan Maharani, and the leader of the dominant PDI Perjuangan political party.
Does she not know that making rujak also involves frying the peanuts first?
The Spat Over New Halal Logo
The government this week introduced a new halal logo to replace the previous one issued by the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI), effective immediately. The logo replacement is a mandate of the 2014 law on halal certification being reassigned from the Council to a government agency.
The new agency is the Halal Products Guarantee Office, an organization within the Religious Affairs Ministry, established in 2017 to issue halal certifications. While it took almost three years to establish the agency following the 2014 law, it’s taken five more years just to issue a new logo. And it’s not one that’s been widely embraced either.
Reactions to the “gunungan” style calligraphy were, shall we say, severe, simply because it’s quite distinct from the style used by most halal logos around the region and even the world.
The calligraphy is seen by many as not even saying halal because the Arabic character “lam” at the end of the word that’s supposed to say halal is styled like “kaf”, “kha”, or “ha” in the Arabic script, turning the word to say halak, halakh, or halah instead. Also it’s considered as applying Javanese culture yet again as a national identity, because it’s based on the wayang, the traditional Javanese shadow puppetry.
So what’s happening to the old logo? Companies that have printed or created consumer product packaging or labels that include the old MUI halal logo will be allowed to keep using them until the supplies have been exhausted, at which time subsequent packaging or labels must use the new logo.
Seems it’s a case of aesthetics over function. While a new logo is necessary due to the change in certification bodies, it could have been done and handled better. At least someone was inspired to make localized halal logos.
Inaugural Shaman Ritual at MotoGP
Indonesia played host to a MotoGP race for the first time in 25 years this week after several riders complained about the circuit’s asphalt, which came loose and hit the riders during last month’s test.
The track was hastily resurfaced and the riders gave their tentative approval during Friday's free practice, despite complaints from Moto3 team Aspar that the circuit was dirty AF.
Friday also saw six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez suffer a nasty crash during the second practice. On Saturday, he was launched into the air again twice during qualifying, which gave him a 14th place start for Sunday’s race. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, the rear of his bike kicked out during a near 200kph run during the warm up lap on Sunday, which sent him somersaulting through the air before landing and skidding hard on the track.
Marquez, who managed to get up, was rushed to the hospital, and a decision was made for him to skip the race for his own safety. He had suffered a concussion after four violent crashes in three days.
The race day itself was equally dramatic. It was pouring cats and dogs, several racers skidded off the track, and lightning actually struck the circuit. Someone had angered Zeus, apparently.
Portuguese racer Miguel Oliveira took the center podium but his spotlight was stolen by Bali-based shaman, Riri Istiati Wulandari who performed a ritual to stop the heavy downpour which stalled the race for more than an hour. The ritual, according to MotoGP’s official Twitter account, apparently worked.
Quick Reads
BTS (back to school)
Get ready parents... 100% in person classes might be a thing again in Jakarta now that the city is back to Level 2 PPKM.
"If God is willing, (now that) relaxation has begun, transportation already 100%... PTM (in person classes) will also reach 100%. But, exactly when is being evaluated and will be announced," Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria said this week. Riza said the city is still waiting on the central government's decision on in person classes.
But next door neighbor Bekasi decided not to wait on the central government and decreed that schools with 200 students or fewer can have 100% in person classes.
FPI Shooters Walked Free
Two cops charged with the murder of several FPI members in December 2020 during a shoot out on Cikampek toll road in West Java were allowed to go free after judges determined that the killings were done in self defense.
The cops were following a convoy of cars they believed were carrying then FPI leader Rizieq Shihab, who was on the run being wanted for a number of health protocol violations.
The cops determined that the officers acted in self defense, saying that Rizieq’s bodyguards had shot their unmarked police car. The judges also said one of the FPI members had even tried to choke one of the officers before trying to take their guns.
Supporters of the now disbanded hardline group insisted that those slain were murdered, saying that the self defense claims were only based on testimonies given by the defendants and were not supported by hard evidence. They urged prosecutors to appeal the verdict.
Positive Vibe
Thinking about traveling anytime soon now that the government has scrapped the negative antigen test requirement for domestic travel? Well you might want to think again folks.
The National Covid-19 task force revealed this week that they have been receiving reports that some people are using this relaxation as a chance to proceed with their travel plan despite testing positive for The Rona.
Task force spokesman Wiku Adisasmito is pleading people to be truthful about their health condition and don’t betray “the trust that the government has given” instead of… we don’t know… reviewing the policy or at the very least say that they will start scrutinizing people’s Pedoody Petooty status at airports.