Effects of fuel price hike

Effects of fuel price hike

I am writing in response to the article published on
March 28. The article is titled, Who fights for the poor?.

The ostensible purpose of the article was to investigate the
effects of the rise in fuel prices. However, the article does not
mention anything about the effects that the price rises have had
on the family.

The article mentions tuition and transportation costs and
electricity bills, but nothing about fuel costs. President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono decided to maintain the price of kerosene, the
fuel most commonly used for cooking, at Rp 700 per liter. He has
made a valiant effort to increase fuel prices while minimizing
the effects on the poor, although there will be knock-on price
rises, such as for public transportation. He has promised to
remain vigilant against those who may try to profit from the
increase.

The price of the fuel that is used for industry and vehicles
has been increased so that the state can make savings of between
4 trillion and 6 trillion rupiah. In my opinion, people who can afford to
use vehicles can also afford the increase in fuel costs. The
previous president was not brave enough to raise fuel prices,
which was understandable with an election looming. But I doubt
whether she would have been brave enough to raise the prices even
if she had been reelected. I'm sure if she had been reelected,
the state would have continued to lose trillions of rupiah every
year and she would have just kept smiling and waving.

Susilo seems to be a brave leader prepared to make
crucial decisions that could affect his political career for
the sake of his country's future. Since his inauguration last
year, Susilo has had to deal with many issues, such as the rise
in fuel prices, the tsunami in Aceh and the territorial dispute
between Indonesia and Malaysia, to name a
few.

I support Susilo's decision to raise fuel prices and I wish
that others could see the long-term benefits that this will bring
to Indonesia. It will also be interesting to see what will happen
when BP MIGAS (Upstream Oil and Gas Executive Agency) deregulates
the fuel industry in Indonesia later this year.

With regard to the article about a family not receiving any
free rice, I believe BULOG, the logistics agency,
intended to distribute large quantities of rice to poor families.
However, about forty billion rupiah was siphoned off from the
allocated funds and possibly went into the coffers of a large
political party.

I know Susilo and his ministers are determined to stop
corruption. I just hope that other government and state
institutions are as willing to see Indonesia grow in the future,
rather than just seeing their own bank accounts growing.

MATTHEW H.
Balikpapan
East Kalimantan