Thousands threatened by food shortages in Aceh<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): As many as 62,000 residents of the isolated
\nisland of Simeulue in Aceh have been reportedly facing food
\nshortages after its three ferries were removed on Sept. 15 from
\nservice there.<\/p>\n
\"If the sea traffic is not restored within five days, some
\nSimeuleu residents will starve,\" said Raswandi Mariadi, a
\nrepresentative of Simeulue's regent, as reported by Antara in the
\nisland's capital of Sinabang on Monday.<\/p>\n
Rice stocks have been depleted, while the local State
\nLogistics Agency had long stopped functioning, he said.<\/p>\n
The island's monthly demand of 6,200 metric tons of rice is
\nnormally supplied from Meulaboh, West Aceh, but the ferry KM
\nKakap, which usually plied the Meulaboh-Sinabang route, was
\ntransferred on Sept. 15 to the Sibolga-Gunung Sitoli route in
\nNorth Sumatra.<\/p>\n
The ferries KM Dengkis and KM Lili have also stopped service
\nto the island because of mechanical problems.<\/p>\n
Simeulue is 108 nautical miles, or 13 hours ferry ride, from
\nMeulaboh and has five districts.<\/p>\n
\"Without the help of the Aceh provincial administration, we
\ncan't do much. Our people will eventually go hungry,\" Raswandi
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He suggested that the provincial administration ask either the
\nNavy to deploy ships or the Air Force to utilize aircraft to
\nferry foodstuffs to the island.<\/p>\n
\"We're facing starvation, not because we can't afford to buy
\nfood, but because there are no stocks coming in,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Antara also reported from Larantuka, East Nusa Tenggara, that
\nresidents of 10 villages in Witihama on Adonara island in East
\nFlores regency had to move their food stocks inside their houses
\nfollowing a recent outbreak of barn thefts.<\/p>\n
\"There's always people reporting that their corn or green bean
\nstocks were stolen from their barns,\" said Mustafa Miak, the head
\nof Oringbele village.<\/p>\n
More than 30 barns have reportedly been pillaged, though
\nowners say they have not dared to report the incidents to police.<\/p>\n
Ama Raja Yusuf, one of the villagers, said the looters came in
\ngroups of ten from outside the district. Some have even used
\nspeedboats to transport their booty.<\/p>\n
Locals said similar outbreaks of looting took place in 1965
\nwhen drought caused massive crop failures.<\/p>\n
Commodities<\/p>\n
The head of the National Development Planning Board, Boediono,
\nsaid in Yogyakarta on Monday that the government was now
\nmobilizing all its resources to meet public demands for basic
\ncommodities.<\/p>\n
\"Our priority now is how to lift Indonesia out of the crisis
\nas soon as possible,\" he said as quoted by Antara in a lecture at
\nGadjah Mada University.<\/p>\n
He also said the board had made it a priority to establish
\nprograms which could immediately benefit the people, including
\nsetting up an effective distribution system of low-cost
\nessentials.<\/p>\n
\"Our role now is like a housewife who has to feed many
\nchildren on a very limited budget. We have to keep on thinking
\nabout how to prevent the children from going hungry,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Separately, Minister of Cooperatives, Small and Medium
\nEnterprises Adi Sasono said in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, that
\nhe hoped prices of essentials \"would return to normal\" by the end
\nof the year.<\/p>\n
\"We are hoping that the economic difficulties caused by the
\nmonetary crisis will (end) within the next three months,\" he said
\nin a meeting with Governor H.Z.B. Palaguna, regents and officials
\nof the ministry's provincial office.<\/p>\n
He was quoted by Antara as describing the importance of
\nsecuring a supply of basic commodities since food shortages would
\nwreak havoc in people's lives and disrupt the domestic political
\nsituation.<\/p>\n
He cited that since the crisis hit Indonesia in July last
\nyear, the number of the country's poor people had increased from
\n22 million to 79 million.<\/p>\n
\"Unrest in the form of looting foodstuffs and even crops
\nshould be handled delicately by regents in order to prevent even
\ngreater problems,\" he said. (swe)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/thousands-threatened-by-food-shortages-in-aceh-1447893297",
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