Govt satys firm on fuel, perk hikes
Govt satys firm on fuel, perk hikes
JAKARTA (JP): The government stood firm with its plans to
slightly raise fuel prices and astronomically increase the
structural allowances of high-ranking officials beginning on
Saturday despite a nation-wide strong opposition to the measures.
House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung on Thursday
failed in a last-minute lobby to have Finance Minister Bambang
Sudibyo postpone what lower-rank civil servants call the
'unbelievably skyrocketing allowances."
Separately, Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Finance and
Industry Kwik Kian Gie said on Thursday the government would go
ahead with its plan to raise fuel prices.
"Up to today (Thursday), we have not considered delaying it,"
Kwik told reporters.
Akbar telephoned Bambang immediately after receiving a 200-
member delegation of the Civil Servants Corps (Korpri) headed by
Chairman Feisal Tamin who called at the House to protest against
the controversial move.
But Bambang said he had yet to consult President Abdurrahman
Wahid because any change in the plan was beyond his authority.
Feisal told Akbar his four million members would go to the
streets to oppose the move if the government did not postpone it.
" Bambang promised to discuss the civil servants' demand with
President Abdurrahman Wahid," Akbar added.
The government recently decided to raise the structural
allowances for the four top ranks of officials by a range of 500
to 2,000 percent. These increases are way over the 25 percent
across-the-board rise for the basic salaries of all civil
servants.
Akbar told Bambang that opposition to the perk increase came
not only from civil servants but also from campuses and the
majority of the Indonesian people.
Akbar added he would try to lobby the President to respond to
the public's demand for the postponement of the controversial
decision.
Feisal said he had received calls from Korpri members,
especially lower-ranking ones, to stage a protest rally for three
hours every day.
He demanded that the government cancel the allowance increase
or face massive civil servant rallies.
"The increase is extremely unfair. The ratio of take-home pay
between high-ranking officials and low-rank civil servants, which
now stands at only 1:10, will soar to 1:45 after the increases,"
Feisal added.
"I will be sad if I have to wear the Korpri uniform on a
street rally," Faisal said, after the meeting with Akbar and the
House vice speakers chairmen Muhaimin Iskandar and A.M. Fatwa.
He instead urged the government to sharply increase the
salaries of lower-ranking civil servants, who would be those most
affected by the increases in the prices of fuel and electricity.
Meanwhile, thousands of people staged rallies in several
cities protesting the planned allowance increases.
Unfurling posters, dozens of students and lecturers from
National University visited the House here to demand the
postponement of the measure.
In Banyumas, Central Java, at least 400 junior and senior high
school teachers staged a rally to protest the increases.
Fuel
Kwik said thus far preparations for the increase in fuel
prices had been going well.
"I contacted the finance minister (Bambang Sudibyo) yesterday
evening and he said there was no problem so far," he said.
Kwik's statement came after the House of Representatives
Commission VIII for mines and energy on Wednesday urged the
government to delay the price hike.
Commission head Irwan Prayitno said the commission proposed
the delay as it considered the government had not yet prepared a
mechanism to keep the prices of other commodities from increasing
as a result of the hike in fuel prices.
Irwan also said the government appeared to lack a mechanism to
prevent leakage in the distribution of fuel subsidies to poor
families and public transportation owners.
He further said the government had not yet done enough to
raise the public's awareness and understanding of the reasons
behind the fuel price increases.
When asked for comments on the House's requests, Kwik said he
had not yet officially received the requests.
"I have not yet received such requests. If I had, I could find
out whether the requests came from all members of the House of
Representatives or just some of them," Kwik said.
The government and the House have agreed to raise fuel prices
by 10 percent on Saturday in order to cut fuel subsidies for the
April-December 2000 fiscal year.
The fuel price increases have been incorporated in the state
budget agreed upon by the House.
The government said it would protect poor families and public
transportation owners from the increases by providing them with
cash subsidies to buy fuel at lower prices.
It plans to disburse a total of Rp 495.8 billion (US$66
million) in cash subsidies to poor families and public
transportation owners through post offices.
Aside from fuel, the government and the House have also agreed
to raise power rates by an average of 30 percent on Saturday.
Thus far, however, the public has focused protests more on the
fuel price hikes than on the power increase. (/jsk/bkm/45/jun)