Agriculture Minister Amran Visits Bulog Office and Suddenly Apologises: What's Going On?
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman visited the Perum Bulog office this afternoon, Monday (13/4/2026). His visit was not to reprimand or issue stern directives, but rather to convey appreciation and an apology to the Bulog team.
After the meeting, Amran stated that his visit was related to the very positive achievement of the national food stockpile. He mentioned that Bulog’s current stock has reached 4.7 million tonnes.
“Oh, this visit to Bulog is just to come and say thank you. This is today’s achievement, Bulog’s stock is 4.7 million tonnes. This is very good. I just came to say thank you and apologise. So, we appreciate it and apologise,” said Amran when met at the Bulog Head Office in Jakarta.
Amran said that he took this step purely for the sake of the country, not personal interests.
“I did that for the country, not personal interests. Once again, I came to apologise,” he stated.
Bulog’s Boss Speaks Up and Provides Explanation
On that occasion, Perum Bulog’s President Director Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani explained that Minister Amran’s apology was closely related to the high work intensity currently being undertaken by Bulog employees in pursuing the national food self-sufficiency target.
“He came here (as a form of) the Minister’s affection for Bulog. So, because the Minister cares about Bulog, he is present here,” said Rizal during a press conference at his office.
He also revealed that the visit was also part of an evaluation meeting between Bulog and the government.
“Because it so happens that we invited him to get (and) we report. It’s an evaluation meeting, right? He is also the head of Bapanas, as our controller. Therefore, we must report to him,” he explained.
Furthermore, Rizal stated that Amran’s apology was related to the drastic increase in workload, to the point where there are almost no holidays for Bulog employees.
“So, all in all. The point is that he conveyed an apology because Bulog’s work now has all black dates. So, there are no red dates. All dates are black,” said Rizal.
According to him, this condition has forced many employees to sacrifice time with their families to carry out national duties.
“The apology he conveyed earlier meant that. Because what? It takes up the time of Bulog employees. Which normally on Saturdays and Sundays should be with family, (now) some of that time is taken for official duties, to serve the nation and state, for procurement, or packaging and so on. To achieve the set targets,” he clarified.
Nevertheless, he emphasised that this hard work has yielded results in line with the government’s targets.
“Alhamdulillah, thanks to the hard work, collective effort, and solidarity of the Bulog team, the expected achievements from the government have been realised. Both last year and hopefully next year,” he concluded.