Hundreds turned up at a West Jakarta COVID-19 vaccination drive yesterday evening, who were undoubtedly eyeing a reward in the form of what has essentially become liquid gold in Indonesia.
In case you’re not in the loop, we’re talking about cooking oil here, not petroleum.
The Tambora Precinct, along with the West Jakarta City Administration, administered jabs to 300 locals in Tanah Sereal District, who afterwards each received a pouch containing 1 liter of cooking oil.
Precinct Chief Rosana Albertina Labobar said they held the vaccination drive in the evening to reach local residents, many of whom work during the day.
“We also want to help the people meet their daily needs, because we know that demand for cooking oil is extremely high,” she said.
The police plan to hold similar cooking oil-for-jab programs in all of Tambora’s districts.
Indonesia, the world’s largest producer of palm oil, is ironically in the midst of a cooking oil shortage. Despite a government-imposed price cap, retail prices for the product have nearly doubled in recent weeks. It has come to a point where Indonesians are reportedly rushing to get their hands on government-subsidized cooking oil as they disappear from traditional markets and supermarkets.
Rising domestic consumption and skyrocketing palm oil prices are likely the main causes of the crisis, but Indonesian police are also cracking down on alleged hoarders of cooking oil who aim to manipulate the market and sell the product later at a higher cost.
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