Sutiyoso demands that Dolog chief be fired

Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Angered by what he sees as chaos in the distribution of subsidized rice to the poor, Governor Sutiyoso urged on Thursday the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) to replace its provincial logistics agency (Dolog) chief, Hary Syahdan.

"He (Hary) should be replaced since he never told me about the distribution of cheap rice. That official should be replaced," Sutiyoso said during a coffee meeting at City Hall attended by high-ranking city officials.

He said he was embarrassed that he was kept uninformed about the distribution of the rice by Hary.

"The Bulog chief (Hary's superior) always cooperates with me. But the Dolog chief has never cooperated with the administration," Sutiyoso said referring to the head of Bulog, Widjanarko Puspoyo.

The governor did not say if there were any irregularities in the actual distribution of the rice.

City Secretary Ritola Tasmaya said that although the governor did not have the authority to dismiss the Dolog chief, Sutiyoso had the right to urge the replacement.

"Although it doesn't fall under his authority, if the governor dislikes him (Hary Syahdan), he could be replaced," Ritola said after the meeting.

Sutiyoso's anger seems connected to the distribution of subsidized rice in several areas in the city last week.

Due to the absence of information from Dolog, the governor often found himself to be incorrect when giving information about the rice distribution to the press.

At one point he told journalists "there will be no distribution of cheap rice today", only to learn later that Dolog was distributing rice.

The distribution scheme has created confusion among residents of the city's slums, many of whom say they have heard nothing of the plan.

According to the scheme, residents are allowed to buy a maximum of 20 kilograms of inexpensive rice, locally known as raskin, for the price of Rp 1,000 per kilogram. This is much lower than the market price, which ranges from Rp 2,600 to Rp 3,500 a kilogram.

Residents are given coupons by their subdistrict administrations to show that they qualify to purchase the subsidized rice.

However, many residents say that although they have been given coupons they do not have the money to buy the rice.