Govt opens call center for fuel price queries

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Starting on Saturday, the public can file any complaints they have about the government's disbursement of low-income assistance funds to a 24-hour toll-free call center.

Located at the National Information Agency (LIN) media center in Central Jakarta, about 30 staff from a series of ministries will also answer the public's questions about fuel price hikes and low-income assistance funds.

"The call center will serve as an early detection system for possible irregularities and any abuses of the low-income assistance funds," State Minister for National Development Planning Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Friday.

Mulyani said the government estimated that 80 percent of the planned programs would target education and health services and develop infrastructure for the poor.

The government has told the House of Representatives it planned to increase fuel prices by an average of 29 percent in early March.

In past months, the government has been designing a social package for lower-income groups to minimize the social and economic disturbance caused by any increases.

It plans to provide scholarships for more than nine million students from elementary and junior high schools, pay for free health services for around 36 million people as well as dedicate infrastructure funds amounting Rp 300 million (US$32,397) for 11,000 isolated villages in the country.

Additional funds to boost small and medium enterprises as well as to finance labor-intensive projects are also included in the program.

Mulyani said to ensure transparency, the government would also allocate extra funds to the Development Financial Comptroller (BPKP) to ensure that the body was able to effectively monitor the distribution of the funds.

State Minister of Communications and Information Sofyan A. Djalil said the government would evaluate the effectiveness of the call center during the first two months of its operations to see if it was necessary to turn it into a permanent institution.

In the long run, he said, the center could serve as a corruption watchdog where the public could report any alleged irregularities.

The public can dial the call center's toll free number 0-800-1- 567877, or send mail to PO BOX JKP-5678, send free SMS (short messaging services) at 5678 or send e-mails to kom_bbm@depkominfo.go.id.