Price cuts fall short of expectations: Legislators<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government's decision to reduce the hikes in fuel prices and
\nto offer discounts to business and industrial electricity
\nconsumers fell far short of expectations, legislators said
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
They also criticized the government for announcing the price
\ncuts without consulting the House of Representatives (DPR).<\/p>\n
"If the government considers its decision to have met the
\npublic's demands, it will have to confront the protesters by
\nitself," Golkar legislator Baharuddin Aritonang said here on
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
Fellow legislators Endin A.J. Soefihara of the United
\nDevelopment Party (PPP) and Yusuf Muhammad of the National
\nAwakening Party (PKB) expressed similar concerns, saying that
\ntheir respective factions would continue to voice the public's
\nopposition to the fuel price hikes.<\/p>\n
Bowing to increasing public pressure, the government rolled
\nback fuel price rises on Monday and offered a 2.5 percent
\ndiscount to business and industrial electricity consumers.<\/p>\n
The decision, however, was less than the full cancellation of
\nthe utility price hikes as many had been demanding. The
\ngovernment raised electricity and telephone charges and removed
\nfuel subsidies on Jan. 1 so as to help finance the country's 2003
\nstate budget.<\/p>\n
The move drew strong protests from trade unions, students,
\nnon-governmental organizations and the public at large as it came
\njust after President Megawati Soekarnoputri issued a presidential
\ndecree granting full release and discharge to business tycoons
\naccused of squandering the wealth of the country.<\/p>\n
Alvin Lie Ling Piao of the Reform Faction noted that the new
\nfuel prices were still unjust as the subsidies extended to
\nordinary people were much smaller than the facilities granted to
\nbusiness tycoons.<\/p>\n
"Therefore, the fuel price hikes must be annulled, not
\nreduced," Alvin said.<\/p>\n
Yusuf said the PKB faction would continue to voice the
\npeople's opposition to the price hikes.<\/p>\n
"Our demands are clear. The government must scrap its decision
\nto increase fuel prices and electricity charges," he said.<\/p>\n
According to Yusuf, his faction would not only focus on the
\nfuel price issue, but also question the sale of a 41.9 government
\nstake in state telecommunications firm PT Indosat to Singapore
\nTechnologies Telemedia Pte Ltd (STT) and the government's
\ndecision to release big-fish debtors from the possibility of
\ncriminal charges.<\/p>\n
Although the government has reduced fuel prices, President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri had not revised Presidential Decrees No.
\n29\/2002 and No.9 0\/2002 on the electricity charge and fuel price
\nincreases respectively.<\/p>\n
"Without the revision of these decrees, the implementation of
\nthe new prices lacks a legal foundation as it is based merely on
\na Cabinet decision," Alvin said.<\/p>\n
M.S. Kaban from the Crescent Star Party (PBB) told the
\ngovernment to re-evaluate the assets of state electricity firm PT
\nPLN and crack down on power theft by big business.<\/p>\n
As soon as the utility price hikes were announced on Jan. 1,
\nlabor activists, students and lower-income people throughout the
\ncountry began staging almost daily protests.<\/p>\n
In some cities, the protests turned violent, resulting in
\nclashes between protesters and security personnel.<\/p>\n
The increasing protests forced the House to summon the
\ngovernment to a meeting, during which both sides agreed to delay
\nthe increases in telephone charges and review the electricity and
\nfuel price hikes.<\/p>",
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