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)