Govt ignores Constitutional Court on fuel
Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government said on Monday that it would not back down from its decision to raise fuel prices by an average of 126.6 percent, despite a warning by the Constitutional Court that the decision had been made on a shaky legal basis.
Constitutional Court President Jimly Asshidiqie sent a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last Thursday, telling him that his presidential decree on fuel price hikes lacked a firm legal foundation.
The letter was issued after a meeting of the court's judges, and copies were sent to other state institutions, including the House of Representatives.
Jimly said Presidential Decree No. 55/2005 on the new retail prices of oil-based fuels, which was signed by Susilo on Sept. 30, had improperly used the Oil and Gas Industry Law (No. 22/2001) as its legal basis.
The court ruled in December last year that the Oil and Gas Law had to be amended as it found that a number of its provisions were repugnant to the 1945 Constitution, including the article on the determination of fuel prices for the domestic market.
The Constitutional Court ruled that such determination must not be based on market prices, but the government should instead set them based on people's purchasing power.
Leaving fuel prices at the mercy of the international market would be contrary to the Constitution, it added.
Responding to the letter, the government said it would ignore it.
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the letter was not specifically discussed during a Cabinet meeting on energy on Monday.
"The government will not respond to the Constitutional Court's letter since our policy has been made in compliance with the existing legislation," he told the press after the meeting at the presidential offices in Jakarta.
The fuel price policy had also been approved by the House of Representatives, Purnomo added. "We will not revoke the decree despite the letter. The court should not interfere in the government's affairs."
Earlier on Monday, Jimly denied that the letter was an attempt to get the government to cancel the steep fuel price increases.
"We have no intention of intervening in the affairs of the executive. But, it's very important that the government abide by the final and conclusive decision of the Constitutional Court regarding the Oil and Gas Law," he said during a press conference.
"We cannot dream of upholding democracy without the rule of law and we cannot dream of improving the people's welfare without justice," Jimly said.
The letter came amid continued sporadic protests against the increases as some lawmakers attempted to file a motion to summon the government to justify the policy.
Legislators said the court's letter could be used as a "bullet" to further strengthen their antigovernment move.