By: Gani Permata *
Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto delivered a national speech entitled ‘Indonesia Wins’ which contained the vision and mission and the five focuses of the candidate candidate candidate and vice presidential candidate program 02. In his speech, Prabowo mentioned the issue of imports of various commodities carried out by the government today, one of which was related to rice imports. Prabowo admitted that during his visit to several regions he met sad farmers because there were rice imports when they were harvested.
“I also just came from Klaten, where the rice farmers were sad because when they harvested, a few months ago a flood of rice from abroad!” Prabowo said before his supporters.
Responding to Prabowo’s statement, the Klaten Regent, Sri Mulyani immediately checked the field. Sri Mulyani stressed that there was no invasion of imported rice in Klaten Regency. Even as of January 2019, Klaten Regency still had a surplus of 131,188 tons of rice. And so far Klaten is known as a national rice barn.
“Grain production in Klaten until January 2019 was 431,359 tons or equal to 259,291 tons of rice and for rice consumption for the Klaten people 125,103 tons,” said Sri Mulyani.
Prabowo’s statement on the issue of rice imports in Klaten also drew protests from farmers. Thousands of farmers who are members of the Dignified Klaten Farmers Movement held demonstrations and orations on Jl. Youth, Klaten, on Sunday (1/20) morning. The farmers did not accept Prabowo’s statement, because in reality Klaten had a surplus of rice and no imported rice was included. They demanded Prabowo apologize to Klaten farmers because his efforts had been underestimated. In addition, the farmers also considered Prabowo’s statement as a public lie that fooled the people.
“I appeal to the political elite not to speak for the sake of gaining votes. Farmers have been struggling with their bones. Don’t make a statement that can upset farmers in Klaten, “said Sarmuji, a farmer from Delanggu Village, Klaten Regency.
In this action the farmers appreciated the Klaten District government, which had been facilitating the needs of farmers. Starting from the provision of agricultural machinery to the ease of obtaining seeds and fertilizers. The government also helps absorb rice from farmers, so prices in the market do not drop and farmers do not lose money. In addition, the Klaten Regency Government is very strict in submitting permits for the conversion of agricultural land. They argue that these policies make farmers more prosperous and able to meet family needs.
The Klaten farmers hope that through the demonstrations they can increase the enthusiasm of farmers in Klaten to produce quality rice. In addition, the farmers are also expected not to be consumed by false issues circulating.
The closer the voting time to the 2019 presidential election, the more false issues that distort the facts and truths made by the opposition. Issues are thrown massively regardless of the data and facts in the field with the aim of distorting information to the public. This is certainly troubling for the community, so that the community is always asked to be critical and wise in responding to news, especially those circulating through social media.
* Student at University of Persada Indonesia