Cooking Oil and Food Task Force

The important thing is that we should not go back to the 1950s by involving the police to manage our economy. History has shown that such a measure will fail. There should be no more “economic police”.

The latest development in the government’s measures to crack down on cooking oil hoarders reminds me of the time I was still in elementary school (SD). This was during the era of President Soekarno.

The economy was then run under various regulations. The government determined the prices of staple foods. Raw materials for batik and textile factories, such as mori (white cotton fabric) and thread, were tightly rationed. Those who were found to be in violation of the regulations and caught hoarding supplies were liable to punishment. The market was not left to regulate its own mechanism.