Protests against LPG and fuel price hikes continue in several cities<\/p>\n
Nana Rukmana and Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon\/Bandung<\/p>\n
Hundreds of students held protests on Tuesday in cities
\nthroughout Java demanding the government reverse state oil and
\ngas company PT Pertamina's decision to raise the price of high-
\noctane gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).<\/p>\n
The protesters said that the price hike would have a
\nmultiplier effect, raising the price of other commodities and end
\nup hurting the common people.<\/p>\n
In Cirebon, West Java, students blocked parts of the northern
\ncoastal highway, burning tires and causing severe traffic jams
\nthat lasted for over four hours.<\/p>\n
The students, numbering about 100, came from several
\nuniversities in Cirebon.<\/p>\n
Police said they did nothing to stop the protests because of
\nfears they would escalate.<\/p>\n
The students said in the protest that the gasoline and LPG
\nprice hike would only increase the economic hardship many had
\nfelt since the economic crisis began in 1997.<\/p>\n
Many motorists commented that they supported the student
\nagenda, but not the traffic jam they had created.<\/p>\n
\"I will not arrive at my destination on time. My boss will be
\nmad,\" said Usman, 38, a truck driver from Central Java on his way
\nto Bandung.<\/p>\n
Separately in Bandung, dozens of students from the Bandung
\nInstitute of Technology road around the city on motorcycles to
\nprotest the price hikes.<\/p>\n
In certain roads, the students blocked the roads, turning off
\ntheir motorcycle engines en mass to symbolize their resistance to
\nthe hike.<\/p>\n
In speeches later on in front of the governor's office on Jl.
\nDiponegoro, the students slammed the decision.<\/p>\n
The government had done nothing to pursue corruption cases in
\noil and gas sectors that had cost the state trillions of rupiah,
\nand instead had allowed Pertamina to raise the price of LPG and
\ngasoline, they said.<\/p>\n
\"If the government is serious about investigating the
\ncorruption cases and preventing the losses, this money could be
\nused to subsidize the price of LPG and gasoline,\" a student
\nprotester said.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, a group of famous artists and actors joined forces
\nwith students.<\/p>\n
Among the group was Rieke Dyah Pitaloka, who plays Oneng in
\npopular sitcom Bajaj Bajuri.<\/p>\n
Last week Pertamina announced it had raised the retail prices
\nof high quality gasoline brands Pertamax and Pertamax Plus by
\n63.3 percent and 52.7 percent respectively and the price of LPG
\nby 41.6 percent.<\/p>\n
The move is seen as a forerunner to planned government move to
\nlift costly subsidies on cheaper fuels in 2005 after high oil
\nprices this year caused the cost of the subsidies to more than
\ntriple.<\/p>\n
The unsubsidized higher octane brands of gasoline are
\ngenerally used for vehicles owned by wealthy and middle class
\nconsumers, with the bulk of Indonesians using the cheaper,
\nsubsidized Premium brand.<\/p>\n
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government has said it
\nplanned to start removing the subsidies on these fuels next year.<\/p>\n
However, local kerosene stove makers said the price hikes had
\nbeen a blessing in disguise.<\/p>\n
A shop keeper in Semarang said in the past two days, she had
\nsold 30 stoves, while on normal days she would only sell from
\nfive to seven. The price of a kerosene stove is between Rp 50,000
\n(US$5.5) and Rp 130,000.<\/p>\n
Customers had shifted their preference to kerosene stoves
\nafter the price of a 12 kilogram LPG canister rose sharply to Rp
\n53,000, from Rp 38,000 earlier.<\/p>",
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