Protests continue over price hikes<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Protests have continued in several cities across the archipelago
\nagainst the soaring price of staple foods and other commodities,
\nspurred by the recent 22 percent increase in fuel prices.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of fishermen demonstrated at the Mataram district
\nlegislature in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) on Tuesday, urging the
\ngovernment to pay attention to their economic plight following
\nthe fuel price rises.<\/p>\n
The demonstrators, including mothers and their children,
\ncomplained that the increases in commodity prices had made them
\nsuffer further.<\/p>\n
\"We are forced sometimes to eat corn and cassava because the
\nprice of rice has risen,\" Midah, a 36-year-old resident, who
\njoined the demonstrators from the town of Ampenan in NTB, said.<\/p>\n
The protesters also accused certain local individuals or
\nofficials as being responsible for the dwindling government
\nrelief allocated to them.<\/p>\n
They said most of the rice and financial assistance, aimed at
\nhelping address the economic problems of poor people in the
\nprovince, had missed its target.<\/p>\n
The demonstrators were fishermen who usually sailed using
\nboats hired from local rich people.<\/p>\n
Farid, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) leader who
\naccompanied the protesting fishermen, suspected that most of the
\nrice and financial assistance was not delivered properly to the
\npoor.<\/p>\n
The use of the reduced relief was also not clear, he added.<\/p>\n
Farid, head of the Institute for Empowerment of People in
\nCoastal Areas, said the local government had promised to provide
\nbetween 15 kilograms (kg) and 20 kg of rice to each fishing
\nfamily in Ampenan.<\/p>\n
Apart from that, they would also have received boats worth at
\nleast Rp 2.5 million each.<\/p>\n
But in reality, he said, every fisherman's family only got
\nfive kg of rice, along with a vessel that, he claimed, was not
\nseaworthy.<\/p>\n
\"According to local fishermen, the boats are estimated each to
\ncost less than Rp 1 million. So where has the remaining Rp 1.5
\nmillion gone?\" Farid questioned.<\/p>\n
In a response to the protest, head of Central Ampenan village
\nH. Cholid said the relief had been channeled properly to the
\ntargets, but admitted that the assistance would be delivered
\ngradually due to the poor financial state of the local
\nadministration.<\/p>\n
In the West Java town of Indramayu, thousands of commuters
\nwere stranded on the street as drivers went on strike from last
\nThursday to oppose the fuel price increases.<\/p>\n
The strike by at least 120 drivers of city minivans won
\nsupport from local NGOs and student groups.<\/p>\n
In an effort to tackle the problem, the Indramayu
\nadministration deployed buses and trucks to carry stranded
\npassengers to their workplaces.<\/p>\n
The striking drivers said the increased price of gasoline and
\ndiesel fuel had raised their operational costs, while many
\npassengers were reluctant to pay more that the established bus
\nfares.<\/p>\n
\"We are going on strike to protest the government's decision
\nto raise fuel prices without taking into account the fate of low-
\nincome people,\" said Sapiudin, a bus driver plying the Indramayu
\nto Cirebon route.<\/p>\n
A similar strike was also staged by drivers in the South
\nSulawesi capital of Makassar, where fuel price rises have caused
\nthe price of staple foods and other basic commodities to soar
\nsince Thursday.<\/p>\n
Despite the strike, many other drivers have unilaterally
\ncharged their passengers fares higher than those already set.<\/p>\n
In several traditional markets and shopping malls across
\nMakassar, rice was sold at Rp 70,000 per sack, from Rp 62,500
\nbefore the fuel prices were increased on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The price of cheap rice provided by the local logistics office
\nalso rose from Rp 2,100 per kg to Rp 2,500.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, cooking oil, which used to cost Rp 3,500 to Rp
\n3,750 per liter, is now sold at Rp 4,000.<\/p>\n
The price of other basic commodities like eggs, wheat and
\nvegetables has also soared. Traders said the increases took into
\naccount the increase in fuel prices.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/protests-continue-over-price-hikes-1447893297",
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