Interior Minister warns regions to remain vigilant despite declining inflation

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Interior Minister Muhammad Tito Karnavian has asked local governments not to become complacent and to remain vigilant against potential future inflationary pressures, even as national inflation falls to 3.48 per cent and stays within the government’s target range. “We are grateful that our inflation is under control and has dropped to a good figure, entering the target below 3.5 per cent at 3.48 per cent, but we must not be complacent,” Tito said in Jakarta on Monday. This was stated by Tito Karnavian during the Coordination Meeting on Inflation Control at the Ministry of Home Affairs headquarters in Jakarta on Monday. Although this achievement is considered an improvement, inflation conditions are still not evenly distributed across all regions. In addition, the Interior Minister emphasised the importance of local governments not only referring to year-on-year inflation but also paying attention to month-to-month inflation, which is seen as more reflective of current trends. “The most important thing is actually month-to-month, from February to March, which better illustrates the trend compared to comparing with last year,” he explained. “Regional heads (should hold) TPID meetings, the Regional Inflation Control Team. This month-to-month in Papua Pegunungan, Southwest Papua, NTB, East Kalimantan, Papua, South Sulawesi, Central Java, North Kalimantan, Bali, that position cannot stay still, they must act immediately,” said Tito. He explained that the sources of inflationary pressure generally come from three main factors: supply limitations, demand surges, or distribution obstacles. Therefore, local governments are urged to be responsive in identifying root problems and taking quick steps, including coordinating with distributors or conducting oversight of potential hoarding. In addition, the Interior Minister also highlighted strategic food commodities, such as broiler chicken meat and broiler eggs, which are still experiencing price increases in many areas despite starting to show a downward trend. “Broiler chicken meat has already (experienced) a decline, but it is still quite high in 148 regions, broiler eggs have also decreased from 256 regions, but increases are still occurring in 145 regions,” he stated.