Tycoons to donate food packages to 100,000 families

JAKARTA (JP): Three of the country's tycoons -- Sudono Salim, Sukamdani Sahid Gitosardjono and The Nin King -- pledged yesterday to provide staple food worth Rp 3 billion to 100,000 Jakarta families.

Each family will receive a package containing five kilograms of rice, a liter of cooking oil and 40 packets of instant noodles, businessman Sukamdani told a local TV reporter after a meeting with Governor Sutiyoso.

"The aid packages will be distributed Thursday to the city's five mayoralties through 76 posts with the help of members of GP Ansor (youth organization)," Sukamdani, owner of the widely diversified Sahid Group, said.

If each recipient of the package has four family members waiting at home, the aid could assist a total of 500,000 people, he said.

No further statements were available from the other tycoons or the governor.

Sudono Salim owns the giant Salim Group while The Nin King holds the widely diversified Argo Manunggal Group.

According to a city spokesman, the 10 a.m. meeting at City Hall yesterday was not open to the media.

"The journalists will only be allowed to cover the gala ceremony Thursday when the businessmen symbolically hand over their assistance to the governor, who will later distribute it to the recipients via the mayoralty officers," the spokesman said.

It remains unknown who the 100,000 recipients will be.

Many of the 11 million people living in Jakarta are still facing difficulties purchasing certain commodities due to skyrocketing prices and the limited availability of stock since last December.

Report

A city councilor urged local staple food suppliers yesterday to make daily reports on their sales and stock levels to either the local logistics agency (Dolog Jaya) or Regional Economic Bureau.

The initiative is aimed at curbing the activities of certain people who intend to hoard foodstuffs, head of Commission B for economic affairs, Djafar Badjeber, said.

"Through such a mechanism, both suppliers and the city administration have a clearer picture on the distribution of foodstuffs in the capital," Djafar said.

Suppliers also have no need to fear being charged for hoarding food, he told reporters after a meeting with Dolog Jaya.

Djafar said many suppliers were warned yesterday by Jakarta Military Police not to stockpile goods. He gave no further explanation.

Tangerang Police broke into four warehouses on Jakarta's outskirts Friday where they found a huge stock of food items, including milk, flour, cooking oil and instant noodles.

It remains unclear whether police have named the five owners of the premises as suspects.

Many have suggested that food hoarders be charged with subversion, a crime which carries the death penalty.

The owners of the Tangerang warehouses denied accusations of stockpiling, saying stocks were kept on the premises due to a lack of market demand.

Djafar suggested the authorities formulate a criteria on food hoarding.

"As long as there is no criteria, it will be difficult to charge the traders with stockpiling."

He led a tour yesterday for commission members to visit Cikini market and Rumput market in Central Jakarta to check on the prices of staple foods.

During the tour, traders complained about the skyrocketing prices and scarcity of cooking oil.

The leader of the City Council Armed Forces faction, Sumekar K.W., called on the municipality to speed up the process of staple food distribution in the city to prevent social unrest.

"Staple foods are basic commodities that have to be available. I think, in order to avoid further social unrest, the municipality must hold staple food bazaars in other parts of Jakarta, not only in Central Jakarta," Sumekar said.

"The bazaars could also help stabilize the price ... because people could get basic commodities for low prices."

The complicated procedures for food distribution must be improved, he said.

"It will reduce the opportunities for hoarding. People must get the staple foods directly from the producer." (bsr/edt/ind)