TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Yuddy Chrisnandi on Saturday, November 22, 2014 at Pendopo :ama, Tasikmalaya, West Java, met with Tasikmalaya Regent and a number of agency heads within the local government.
During the meeting, Yuddy brought messages from President Joko Widodo about national efficiency, one of being that every time a local government holds an event, they must not serve import foods.
"That includes fruit such as grapes or oranges. They must not be imported fruits. We have to eat local food so that our farmers can stay alive,” Yudi said, adding that by following the instruction from the central government, Yuddy said, local farmers will grow.
"I will issue a circular letter about the ban the use of import food (during government events),” he added.
In the meantime, Tasikmalaya Regent Uu Ruzhanul Ulum said that in principle, the local government has to follow any instructions from the central government.
"I accept any instructions given by the central government. We at the local governments have to obey the central government,” he said, adding that regarding the serving of local foods during government events, Uu said that the Tasikmalaya local government has already implemented it.
Import foods, especially fruits, he said, allegedly contain food preservatives.
"They’ve been in the shipment for long but they remain intact. They might contain formalin," he said.
Therefore, he said that the Tasikmalaya government chose to serve local food in every event.
"Let’s go back to our roots. We choose grapefruit, Medan oranges, or Malang apples,” he said.
CANDRA NUGRAHA
