A number of Acehnese diaspora members in Malaysia sent aid for their\ncompatriots in Aceh following devastating floods and landslides.\nHowever, the disaster relief consignment has been held up by permit\nrequirements from the Directorate General of Customs and Excise at the\nMinistry of Finance.<\/p>\n
The matter was raised by the Head of the Task Force for Accelerating\nPost-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction in Sumatra and\nconcurrent Home Affairs Minister, Tito Karnavian, during a meeting with\nHouse of Representatives leaders at the parliamentary complex in\nSenayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday (18 February). Tito sought guidance from\nthe House regarding the aid shipment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is currently aid from the Acehnese diaspora. We know that in\nMalaysia there are approximately 500,000 Acehnese citizens working there\nwho have family ties,\u201d Tito said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBesides helping their respective families with monetary assistance,\nthey have also collected goods, mainly food supplies,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Tito requested support from House leaders regarding the aid. He said\nthe goods had been dispatched but were being held up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goods are ready and have been sent from Port Klang in Kuala\nLumpur, to be shipped to the port in Lhokseumawe, called Krueng Geukueh\nPort. But they are currently held up because Customs has not yet granted\nentry permission,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Tito conveyed that President Prabowo Subianto had directed that the\naid be accepted, provided it did not contain prohibited items.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe informed the President at the time that as long as it is not\ngovernment-to-government, it should be accepted.\nGovernment-to-government aid must go through the Foreign Minister. This\nis not government-to-government \u2014 it is from a community of people there\nwho have family connections and work in Malaysia,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe President said it should be accepted as long as there are no\nprohibited items such as narcotics, firearms, and the like,\u201d he\nadded.<\/p>\n
Finance Minister Purbaya\u2019s Response<\/strong><\/p>\n Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, in the same meeting, responded\nto the news that disaster aid from the Acehnese diaspora in Malaysia had\nbeen held up by Customs permits. Purbaya assured that as long as there\nwas certification from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB),\nthe aid would be released.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, as long as there is certification from BNPB, we can release it,\nSir. So if BNPB states these are goods for disaster relief, Customs will\nrelease them,\u201d Purbaya said.<\/p>\n Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian said his office had coordinated\nwith BNPB regarding the aid. The shipment would be received and\ndistributed by BNPB.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have already coordinated with BNPB. BNPB will receive it and BNPB\nwill distribute it,\u201d Tito said.<\/p>\n House Leaders Call for Dispensation<\/strong><\/p>\n Still in the same meeting, House Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad\nurged that the disaster aid from Acehnese residents in Malaysia be\nallowed to enter Indonesia without bureaucratic delays. Dasco called on\nthe government to open access for the shipment.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand there is an issue with aid from Acehnese citizens in\nMalaysia. Whose authority is it now to allow these goods in, Home\nAffairs Minister? So it can be decided quickly here,\u201d Dasco said.<\/p>\n Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian said the authority lay with\nCustoms at the Ministry of Finance. Tito detailed the aid as including\n3,000 litres of cooking oil worth Rp 1 billion, sugar worth\napproximately Rp 50 million, and mineral water worth Rp 672 million.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are 5,000 boxes of ready-to-eat meals worth Rp 1 billion. The\nbulk is new clothing \u2014 3,000 sacks worth Rp 126 billion, Qurans worth Rp\n1 billion, and toilet fixtures worth Rp 4.8 billion,\u201d Tito said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are requesting these be shipped to the port in Lhokseumawe from\nPort Klang. The goods are already at Port Klang. We have sent a letter\nto the Directorate General of Customs and Excise at the Ministry of\nFinance. The key issue is that for cooking oil and sugar, we need a\nletter from the relevant technical ministry, namely the Agriculture\nMinister, regarding whether these may be imported,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Dasco considered the one-off shipment of disaster aid unproblematic\nand called on the Ministry of Agriculture to help facilitate access.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is just a one-time shipment, isn\u2019t it? A donation from Acehnese\ncitizens living in Malaysia. I think the Agriculture Minister would not\nobject since the quantities are not that large. Agriculture Minister?\u201d\nDasco said.<\/p>\n Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman, who was also present at the\nmeeting, said rice was a highly sensitive commodity and should\npreferably not be shipped. Dasco confirmed there was no rice in the\nconsignment.<\/p>\n \u201cOur suggestion is, if possible, rice is very sensitive,\u201d Andi\nsaid.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no rice, Sir, only a small amount of cooking oil and\nsugar,\u201d Dasco replied.<\/p>\n However, Andi proposed that the aid be converted to cash instead. He\nnoted that Indonesia was currently exporting cooking oil on a large\nscale to several countries.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it is still possible, our suggestion is \u2014 since we are also\nexporting cooking oil on a large scale to several countries \u2014 if it\ncould be converted to cash. But if it must come in, I think very strict\nsupervision is needed,\u201d Andi said.<\/p>\n Ultimately, Dasco concluded that since the shipment was a one-off\nhumanitarian effort, the government could grant a dispensation. He asked\nthe State Secretary Minister and the Finance Minister to coordinate with\nthe Directorate General of Customs and Excise to expedite the permit\nprocess.<\/p>\n \u201cThese goods have already been purchased, they just need to be\nshipped, and it is only a one-time event. I think we can grant a\ndispensation since it is just once, rather than having to convert it\nback to cash and repurchase everything,\u201d Dasco said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe State Secretary Minister and Finance Minister can coordinate\nwith the Director General of Customs and Excise. We have heard the\nAgriculture Minister\u2019s view, and since this is a one-time donation and\nthe volume is not disruptive, I think, Home Affairs Minister, we can\nrealise this as soon as possible so these goods can enter under strict\nsupervision and go directly to the evacuation centres in time for the\nfasting month and Eid al-Fitr,\u201d he added.<\/p>",
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