Former President Megawati Soekarnoputri seems eager to grease herself away from accusations of being tone deaf by holding a cooking demo without cooking oil amid a nationwide shortage of the product.
Previously, the PDI-P chairwoman went full Marie Antoinette and said, “The problem is not about cooking oil being expensive. I’ve stopped to think, do ladies just fry their food everyday? To the point that they’re fighting [over cooking oil]?” She then added, “Is there no way to boil or steam or make rujak (sweet/spicy fruit salad)? Those are Indonesian dishes. Why are people complicating this?”
Related — Buy an air fryer, Indonesia’s utility firm PLN tells customers amid cooking oil crisis
Megawati has been widely panned over her statement, which many say are both sexist and tone deaf. She has not issued a public apology, and her PDI-P party has defended her and suggested that it is the public that has to think the way she does and unlearn habits formed over generations.
Megawati seems to be doubling down on that stance, with PDI-P Secretary General Hasto Kristiyanto confirming over the weekend that the chairwoman is set to host a cooking oil-free cooking demo at the PDI-P Academy in Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta at 1:30pm.
“In the past two years, I’ve been struggling with issues related to cholesterol. When I looked into it, it turns out that what Ibu Megawati said was true; it’s because I consumed too much fried food,” Hasto said yesterday, continuing PDI-P’s unwavering defense of Megawati’s statement.
“That’s why we’re holding an event and inviting famous chefs, in order to teach us how to diversify food and exclude fried foods. So there will be boiled, steamed dishes, and we’ll also exhibit local delicacies made of coconut oil.”
Other than famous chefs, Hasto said nutrition experts will also make an appearance at the demo.
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 at least 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.
