Press Statement of President of the Republic of Indonesia after Inspecting Jatinegara Bali Mester Market, East Jakarta, September 19, 2023

Just one, again, one. The price of shallots has dropped, garlic has also dropped, only one thing remains high, rice. We have carried out market operations, supply rice into retail markets and Cipinang [market]. We hope in two or three weeks, the price will start to decline, although it has also dropped a little. We hope it will decline and return to normal. Because the stock is available, we have 1.6 million in stock, 1.6 million tons. There are still 400,000 tons on the way to Indonesia. This means that there will be 2 million in stock, and we will still add another 1 million to ensure the stock is sufficient. So, we are not worried about drought or low production because we have the stock.

Press
The reason is drought, Sir?

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)
Yes, super el nino, drought and also because many countries, 19 countries, have stopped rice exports.

Press
Regarding another issue, Sir. Regarding Pak Gus Yusuf’s statement, he said that the PKB was asked by you to support Pak Prabowo, so that…

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)
Presidential and vice presidential candidate affairs are the business of party or party coalition, not the President’s business, that’s all.

Press
Regarding Pak Prabowo “choked” the Deputy Minister, what is your response, Sir? Is that true?

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)
As far as I know, there has been no such incident. Indeed, during this political year there are a lot of news like that, please cross check, check the truth, don’t just accept it as it is.

Press
Extension of term of office, Sir?

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)
Still in process.

Press
The intelligence data which was revealed yesterday by you, was regarding political party intelligence data, right? You said you hold the data?

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)
I receive reports on matters related to politics, related to economy, related to social matters regularly. I always get that information, either from intelligent briefings, from BAIS (Strategic Intelligence Agency) regarding security, from the Police, from the BIN (State Intelligence Agency) or the flow of funds from the PPATK (Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center), I can get everything, that’s my daily job. Their survey results, data, numbers, everything. I receive such data every morning.

(EST/MMB)