Fuel scarcity puts Kupang residents in limbo

Jemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang

The face of Antonius Manaf, 31, is reddish. The minivan driver is exhausted, hungry and thirsty. Every day he is obliged to pay Rp 250,000 deposit for his minivan, but as of 11 a.m on Thursday morning he had not earned a single cent. All his time in the morning had been spent queuing at a gasoline station in the city.

He is frustrated and it seems as if the queue will never end. Since morning 400 cars and motorcycles have joined the queue and he does not know when he will get his turn.

"I am very upset. The government is incapable of managing fuel distribution," he said.

The similar complaint was voiced by Abraham Nenotek, 35, a local resident. He, along with some 100 residents, have stayed night and day since Wednesday night at a Oebufu gasoline station in downtown Kupang in order to get premium gasoline.

While queuing, he sang songs with his newly found friends in the queue. Some songs poked fun at President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla. On average, Kupang residents are spending five hours in queues to get premium gasoline. Nenotek finally got her gasoline supply in the morning but hundreds of other residents still had to wait patiently in order to get their ration.

On Thursday afternoon, many people could still been seen in queues at the eight gasoline station across the city. Office and school activities were paralyzed as public transportation was not operating. The situation is expected to last until Saturday when supplies of fuel arrive from Surabaya, according to a Pertamina official.