REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The newly appointed Chief Security Minister Luhut Binsar Panjaitan vowed here on Thursday to prioritize security and economic stability during his tenure.
"The first thing I would do is to coordinate to ensure security and economic stability as they are the key factors," stated Luhut, who was named coordinating minister for political, security and legal affairs by President Joko Widodo on Wednesday.
Luhut, who replaced Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno, remarked after officially receiving the post from Tedjo at the office that the program will be implemented by directly involving his office to keep food prices in check in line with the president's directives.
The former army general noted that the food prices in Indonesia, including the prices of rice, meat, and salt, were the highest in the ASEAN region.
"This means that there is something wrong. Therefore, we will work with other coordinating ministers to deal with it," he remarked.
He explained that his office will gather data about the domestic requirements of rice and meat, which will later be used to determine the quantity to be imported, or if imports are at all necessary.
He pointed out that his office will be involved in preventing on-field food problems, and the military/police will be involved in implementing the policy.
"The TNI/Police will directly conduct on-field checks. We will take preventive measures, and it is not impossible for us to act if there is any violation," he noted.
He stated that controlling the food prices would have a positive impact on the inflation and interest rates.
"If we can reduce the price of meat from Rp130 thousand per kilogram to around Rp60 thousand or Rp70 thousand per kilogram in 2015, the impact will be very good," he pointed out.
The handing over ceremony was also attended by ministers under the coordination of the office including Administrative Reform Minister Yuddy Chrisnandi, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly, National Police Chief General Badrodin Haiti, and Military (TNI) Commander General Gatot Nurmantyo.
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