Sawit Watch, HuMa, WALHI, ELSAM, Greenpeace Indonesia and PILNET Indonesia

Jakarta– Indonesian NGOs Sawit Watch, HuMa, WALHI, ELSAM, Greenpeace Indonesia and PILNET have filed a public interest lawsuit amidst national controversy around a shortage of palm oil-based cooking oil. The lawsuit in the Jakarta State Administrative Court names President Joko Widodo and his Trade Minister as responsible for a failure to ensure the affordability and availability of basic commodities.

The lawsuit is also an open challenge to the government which has pledged to reform the palm oil sector, including a largely unfulfilled promise to audit oil palm plantation companies. By lodging this case, the NGOs hope that public discourse will be focussed and result in a comprehensive evaluation of the palm oil industry to bring about significant governance improvements. 

Consumers need cooking oil at affordable prices, just as Indonesia’s Indigenous Peoples and local communities need the government to step in to prevent deforestation and land grabbing for oil palm plantations.

The lawsuit follows an administrative objection lodged by the same NGOs targeting related officials on April 22, 2022. “In the new lawsuit, we state that the failure of President Jokowi and the Minister of Trade in preventing cooking oil scarcity and high prices is contrary to national law and General Principles of Good Governance (Asas-Asas Umum Pemerintahan yang Baik), particularly the Principles of Accuracy, Public Interest and Justice,” said Andi Muttaqien, Deputy Director of ELSAM.

President Joko Widodo’s move to temporarily halt exports of crude palm oil as of April 22, 2022 after our administrative objection was submitted did not significantly address the problem. The export ban, which caused oil palm smallholders to suffer losses, provided only a temporary easing in cooking oil prices. Indonesia’s Competition Commission (KPPU) noted that the price of packaged cooking oil was in the range of Rp. 25,000 per litre during the period when the palm oil export ban was in effect, from April 28 to May 22, 2022.

“In the lawsuit, we ask President Jokowi and the Minister of Trade to guarantee the supply and stabilisation of cooking oil prices to maintain affordable consumer prices for all Indonesian citizens,” explained Achmad Surambo, Sawit Watch Executive Director.

Media contact:

Uli Arta Siagian (WALHI) 082182619212

N. Achmad Surambo (Sawit Watch) 08128748726 

Sekar Banjaran Aji (Greenpeace Indonesia) 081287769880 

Andi Muttaqien (ELSAM) 08121996984 

Erwin Dwi Kristianto (HuMa) 081327096984

Judianto Simanjuntak (PILNET) 085775260228