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