Amran Sulaiman: "Tolong Dong Tanya Kapan Ekspor, Jangan Impor Melulu....."
Indonesian Agriculture Minister: "Please Ask When Exporting, Not Just about the Import .."
Reporter : Gusmiati Waris
Editor : Cahyani Harzi
Translator : Dhelia Gani
DARI sejumlah menteri di Kabinet Kerja dari Presiden RI Joko Widodo, tidak banyak yang pandai berbincang dengan wartawan, bahkan sebagian besar disebut ´jutek´ karena menjawab seadanya ketika ditanya oleh para jurnalis. Dari yang sedikit itu, Menteri Pertanian RI, Andi Amran Sulaiman tergolong sabar menjawab pertanyaan para jurnalis kendati isu yang disampaikan tergolong sensitif.
Ketika ditanya tentang reshuffle pertama Kabinet Kerja yang menggusur beberapa koleganya di kabinet pada 12 Agustus 2015, Menteri Amran Sulaiman menjawab ringan, "buktinya saya sekarang ada di sini, di Berau (Kalimantan Timur) bersama Anda."
Menteri asal Bone, Sulawesi Selatan ini kerap bergurau menjawab pertanyaan jurnalis, seperti ini jawabannya:
".... Tolong dong tanya kapan ekspor, jangan impor melulu, karena ucapan itu adalah doa..."
Jawaban tersebut dilontarkannya kepada wartawan di Kabupaten Kulonprogo, DI Yogyakarta pada Rabu (4/11) yang berulang kali bertanya tentang impor pangan. "Kapan impor pak menteri? Kenapa tidak impor? Apakah bapak anti impor?"
"Tidak ada kebijakan tahan impor, kemudian buka impor, yang ada sekarang adalah kita mengendalikan impor sesuai kebutuhan bukan keinginan," katanya dengan diplomatis usai panen panen dan dialog dengan petani jagung di Desa Sendangsari, Kecamatan Pengasih.
Mentan Amran pun memaparkan bahwa pada Januari - Februari 2015, Indonesia mengimpor jagung dan akibatnya harga jagung di tingkat petani melorot hingga Rp1.500 per kg. "Kenapa? Karena kita impor terlalu banyak, jadi tidak ada istilah nahan atau buka tapi kita kendalikan agar petani tetap berproduksi dan harga pada posisi yang wajar.
Amran Sulaiman mengingatkan semua pihak bahwa: "Kita tidak boleh mengimpor karena ada pesanan, ada keinginan orang tertentu tapi kita harus bela petani kita."
Syukurlah, kendati menteri Jokowi ada yang ´jutek´ tapi belum sampai pada level ´menyebalkan´ atau ´sok tahu´ seperti seorang menteri di era Soeharto maupun pada pemerintahan Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) periode 2004-2009, yang kemudian digusur oleh SBY entah karena alasan apa.
OF THE several ministers in President Joko Widodo administration not much smart facing journalists, even most of the so-called ´sucks´ because often only a short answer when asked by journalists. Of those few, Agriculture Minister, Andi Amran Sulaiman relatively patiently answered questions of journalists despite issues in question classified as sensitive.
When asked about the first cabinet reshuffle of President Widodo that displace some of his colleagues on August 12th, 2015, Minister Amran Sulaiman replied curtly, "Now I am here, in Berau (East Kalimantan) with you."
Minister of Bone regency, South Sulawesi province is often jokingly answered questions of journalists, as this answer: "Please Ask When Exporting, Not Just about the Import, because utterance are a prayer ..."
The answer he told reporters in Kulonprogo district, Yogyakarta province on Wednesday (11/4) were repeatedly asked about the food imports. "When import the minister? Why not import? Are you anti imports?"
"There was no policy restrain imports, then open import, we now control the imports according to the needs not the interest," he said diplomatically after harvest and dialogue with a corn farmer in Sendangsari village of Pengasih sub-district.
Minister Sulaiman explained in January - February 2015Indonesia has imported of corn, and consequently the price of of corn at the farm level dropped to 1,500 rupiah per kg. "Why? Because we are import too much, so there is no term, hold or open, but controlled so that farmers continue growing, and the selling price remains profitable for farmers."
He reminds all parties: "We should not importing because interests of, because interests of certain parties, we must defend the farmers."
Thankfully, despite ministers of President Widodo there are ´curtly´ but not yet at the level of ´annoying´ or ´smart ass´ as a minister in the Soeharto era, or the first era of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono administration, who was then replaced by Yudhoyono for some inexplicable reason.
