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| President Prabowo Subianto inaugurated the launch of 80,081 Red and White Village/Sub-district Cooperatives (KDMP/KKMP) in an event held at the Red and White Bentangan Village Cooperative, Bentangan Village, Wonosari District, Klaten Regency, on Monday, July 21, 2025. (Photo: Live screenshot youtube/@sekretariat.presiden) |
sukabumiNews.net, JAKARTA – President Prabowo Subianto has ordered the National Police Chief and the Attorney General to pursue and take firm action against unscrupulous rice traders who are causing state losses amounting to hundreds of trillions of rupiah.
"National Police Chief, Attorney General,
please pursue those unscrupulous individuals. Let the IDR 100 trillion enter
the market every year. If they're naughty, replace regular rice with premium
stamps," Prabowo said at the launch of the Red and White Village
Cooperatives (Kopdes Merah Putih), broadcast online on Monday, July 21.
Prabowo revealed that the practice of mixed
rice also occurs in other countries, such as Malaysia. However, he firmly
stated that he will not allow this irregularity to continue.
He also appreciated the steps previously taken
by the Minister of Agriculture, Andi Amran Sulaiman, to crack down on this
fraud. However, the practice often recurs.
"I received a report from the Minister of
Agriculture. When he was Minister of Agriculture, he took action, but it
reappeared, and he tried again," he said.
Besides rice, similar issues apparently
occurred with other commodities, such as cooking oil. He mentioned the practice
of reducing the volume of packaging, which could have a significant economic
impact.
"It's the
same as cooking oil. The volume of the bottles is reduced by 10 percent, 20
percent. A huge 20 percent out of several million tons. This is also the case
with rice taken out of several million tons," said Prabowo.
Prabowo said that
food quality testing laboratories are now available in many regions, and the
use of artificial intelligence (AI) allows for faster and more accurate
monitoring.
"We can now
quickly track these anomalies. Laboratories for testing food quality are
already in many regions. Artificial intelligence is also available, so we can
quickly track these manipulations," he explained.
Prabowo
emphasized that the state has strong legal powers through the 1945
Constitution, particularly Article 33, as a moral and constitutional basis for
defending the interests of the people and taking legal action.
"We possess
a tremendous power, namely the 1945 Constitution, Article 33. This is the
spirit of our republic, its very essence. If this weapon is the ultimate
weapon, it's up to us whether we dare or not," he stressed,
