Governor urges wealthy people to stop hoarding
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso yesterday blamed upper- and middle-class Jakartans for helping spark Thursday's panic buying spree which has caused a scarcity of certain food commodities in the city.
He urged wealthy people to immediately stop their "greedy" actions.
"I strongly urge Jakartans to calm down. Buying up too much food is just a waste. Lots and lots of people need it... don't be greedy.
"The more you buy, the more people will suffer," Sutiyoso told reporters after inspecting the price and stocks of rice at Jatinegara market, Cipinang rice wholesaler market and the Jakarta Chapter of the National Logistics Agency (Dolog Jaya) in East Jakarta yesterday afternoon.
He said that Jakarta's well-to-dos, who flocked to supermarkets and retail centers Thursday and yesterday, bought up an excessive amount of food items, such as rice, instant noodles and milk.
"It's outrageous. They're hoarding all the food... both fresh and instant food. Many people bought dozens of boxes of instant noodles and sacks of rice. For what?
"Are they going to eat all of it? Think of less fortunate people who can't afford to shop till they drop. It's better to save your money you have and buy other things other than food if you want to. Just act normal," he said.
The governor urged people of all economic levels here not to buy an excessive amount of food to stock up at home because it would only worsen the situation.
"The city ran out of food yesterday (Thursday) because some residents, mostly upper- and middle-class people, purchased all of it. This must be stopped. There's no need to panic because we have enough food stocks here," he said.
In a difficult situation like this, people must help each other, hand-in-hand, in coping with the crisis, Sutiyoso said.
Earlier yesterday morning, at the huge Lippo supermal in Karawaci, Tangerang, a low-grade government employee accused wealthy Jakartans of being criminals for cleaning out rice stocks and other food commodities at two big supercenters there.
"They are criminals by cheating other people in such a difficult situation. The government should arrest them. Look at me and my poor family and neighbors. We no longer can find even a grain of low-grade rice here," said Ibu (mother) Yos.
"Why don't they buy up bread to make burgers, so they could leave rice for the poor like us," she angrily told The Jakarta Post.
Too slow
She also blamed the government for talking too much while reacting too slowly to meet the high market demands.
"The officials keep on telling us not to panic. They say don't panic and food stocks will be okay. But why is there still no rice at these two huge Wal-Mart and Mega-M supercenters here? Why? Or, are the owners also crooks by hiding their stocks?"
Thursday's buying spree took place at food shops, particularly in shopping centers, in and around the city following the rupiah's free fall to over 10,000 against the U.S. dollar earlier that day.
As of yesterday afternoon, many supermarkets still were unable to restock their shelves with rice, cooking oil, milk, detergents, instant noodles and sugar.
Those which still had staple foods repeatedly reminded customers through the microphone that certain items could only be bought in a limited amount.
But some people, particularly wealthy people, reportedly brought servants with them so they could buy more items.
At about 11 a.m. at the Wal-Mart supercenter in Karawaci there were still dozens of 2.5 kilogram sacks of imported rice -- the only type of rice the store had left.
A few hours later, the shelves were almost empty even though it cost Rp 26,250 per sack.
"We don't know exactly why our supplier still could not send us more rice even though we asked for more yesterday," said shop attendant Sukantono.
During his inspection yesterday, Sutiyoso instructed Dolog Jaya to give priority for the distribution of its rice, flour, cooking oil and sugar to traditional markets, instead of supermarkets.
"Don't just supply the supermarkets. Give more attention to less fortunate people because they suffer the most in these kinds of situations," he ordered the agency's deputy chief, Saian Ahmadi.
"I want deliveries made to those markets today. No excuse. You people said you have lots of stocks, so now prove it by providing an adequate supply to the markets," he said.
The agency earlier claimed to have 555,000 tons of rice in its stocks which would be enough to support Jakarta until March. It also reported that it had 48,000 tons of sugar and 33,000 tons of flour in its warehouses.
During the inspection, the governor was also beset with waves of complaints from market shoppers.
When entering Jatinegara market, a group of housewives yelled at him after finding that there was no longer any sugar or flour left in the market.
"Where's the sugar and flour, Pak (sir)? There's not even any milk for our children and the price of rice and cooking oil is too expensive," a woman shouted.
Another housewife, Rumyati, said: "The price of rice has soared to Rp 4,000 per kilogram. I can't possibly afford to buy more than two kilograms. I don't have much money."
Put in a puzzling situation, the governor quickly called one of his subordinates and ordered him to take care of the problem.
"I guarantee that the stocks will be adequate soon. Don't worry," said the governor, leaving the crowd.
A rice trader at Blok B in the Cipinang wholesaler market said that the market had been heavily packed with people buying up bulk amounts of rice since Thursday.
"Usually only distributors buy rice from here," Purwanto told the Post.
Sales at the market since Thursday had reached six tons of rice in just a day -- triple the usual daily figure, he said.
Sutaji of Pulo Gebang, East Jakarta, said that he bought rice from the market because kiosks at his housing complex were already low on rice.
Agus Eko, a retailer at Pulo Gebang Indah in East Jakarta, said that he bought 11 sacks (550 kilograms) of rice instead of his usual purchase of four sacks.
"The rice stocks in my kiosk have already been depleted since people started buying like crazy on Thursday. Besides that, I also want to be ready for any price increases in the future," he said.
In another related development yesterday, a city councilor urged Dolog Jaya to release all of its rice stocks immediately in order to calm down public concerns because the governor's guarantee was not enough.
"People will stop hoarding food only if there is an abundant amount of rice, not because of a statement," said head of Commission B for Economic Affairs, Djafar Badjeber.
Djafar may be right.
Despite official warnings and statements designed to convince the public that there was an adequate supply of food in the city, a number of stores and shops throughout the area, like Tangerang, Bekasi and Bogor, were still heavily packed with customers yesterday.
Rice could no longer be seen at several stores and traditional markets.
Most sellers and distributors in the Cipinang wholesale market, for instance, were experiencing brisk sales as mostly middle- to upper-class shoppers packed the market.
"The number of customers today is much higher than on ordinary days. Our stocks of fine quality rice are already finished," an employee of Indogrosir wholesaler shop said.
"Rich people have been crowding here since six a.m, creating a traffic jam and blocking distribution," he added.
Shoppers said they were worried that the rupiah would fall further, causing producers to sharply increase their prices.
"I decided to buy a lot of rice after I heard that many people were lining up to buy rice here," Andi, a housewife said.
At the huge Mega-M supercenter at Lippo Supermal in Karawaci, Tangerang, some commodities, particularly rice -- the primary staple food for Indonesians -- had run out as early as Thursday evening.
People, including villagers in the surrounding area, bought up the remaining stocks of instant noodles, detergents, cooking oil and powder milk.
A number of uniformed police officers were also seen walking in front of the Wal-Mart store, which hastily took down its discount banners.
A similar scene also took place in Bogor. (team)