State Audit Board insists on auditing controversial rice imports

"What we will audit is the institution. Anybody who is involved in the issuance of the import permit will be questioned, regardless of whether or not the minister has resigned," BPK member Ali Masykur Musa said.

Bandung, W Java (ANTARA News) - The State Audit Board (BPK) insists on auditing the controversial import of 16 thousand tons of rice from Vietnam despite Gita Wirjawans resignation as trade minister.

"What we will audit is the institution. Anybody who is involved in the issuance of the import permit will be questioned, regardless of whether or not the minister has resigned," BPK member Ali Masykur Musa stated after a dialog with the Indonesian farmers and fishermen association (KTNA), here on Tuesday.

Ali noted that the rice import had led to three types of losses which might wreck havoc on the national agricultural system.

"First, the loss of state revenues from import duties; second, the disruption of rice price at the farmer level and in the market; and third, the loss of farmers spirit to cultivate rice," he explained.

Ali stated that the agency had formed a team to audit the rice imports.

The audit will focus on three matters; first, whether or not the 16 thousand tons of rice were imported legally; second, whether or not the rice import led to state losses; and third, whether or not the regulations of the trade and agriculture ministries were correlated, he explained.

The audit will establish who was responsible for the rice imports, he pointed out.

"The Trade Ministry stated that it had received a recommendation from the Agriculture Ministry. However, the Agriculture Ministry denied issuing the recommendation," he explained.

Gita announced his resignation as trade minister last Friday (Jan.31), a move that he believed will let him focus and concentrate all his efforts as a participant in the Democratic Partys presidential convention.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa asked the two ministries to investigate the alleged abuse of rice import permits.

The controversy over the import of 16 thousand tons of rice surfaced when Vietnamese rice of medium category flooded the domestic market. The permit from the Trade Ministry only allowed the importation of rice of the premium category.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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