Isolated protests ahead of fuel price hike

JAKARTA (JP): Protests against the government's plan to hike fuel prices were held in several towns on Friday amid growing signs of more widespread demonstrations and possible strikes when the increase comes into effect on Sunday.

With just two days to go before the average 12 percent increase, gas stations in Jakarta and most towns in the country reported there was none of the panic buying which accompanied past fuel price hikes.

Antara news agency reported isolated cases of towns being hit by fuel shortages because of stockpiling.

Several gas stations in Manado, North Sulawesi, were closed briefly when they ran out of fuel, apparently the result of motorists hoarding fuel, the news agency said.

The stations reopened a few hours later after fresh supplies arrived.

Pertamina, the state oil and gas monopoly, has called on gas stations to introduce a rationing system by setting a maximum amount of gasoline motorists are allowed to purchase.

Pertamina has already replenished supplies in most major towns to ensure adequate supply ahead of the fuel price hikes.

Although there was no panic buying, some gas stations have beefed up security in anticipation of possible trouble.

In spite of the appearance of calm, several organizations, from students and lawyers, to workers and farmers, have called on the government again to delay the fuel price increase.

Fuel prices originally were to go up in April but the government was forced to delay the increases in the face of massive public opposition.

The government has said that any further delay would cost the state huge sums of money in the form of a fuel subsidy, the benefit of which, it says, goes mostly to the wealthy and not the poor.

The government has devised a direct cash subsidy for the poor to cushion them from the impact of the fuel price hike.

In Jakarta, students held protests in three locations in Central Jakarta.

Dozens of members of the Indonesian Islamic Student group protested outside the State Palace on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara, demanding the government cancel the price increase.

"The timing is not appropriate. The economy is still in tatters," a speaker at the protest said.

Opposite the Merdeka Selatan Palace on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan, dozens of students claiming to represent 50 universities also demanded the cancellation of the fuel hikes, saying the plan would case the prices of other goods to skyrocket.

The head of the student executive board at the University of Indonesia, Taufik Riyadi, told The Jakarta Post that students would hold a mass rally on Monday.

In Bandar Lampung, the capital of Lampung province, the Lampung Students Union, the Lampung Public Transportation Drivers group, the Lampung Workers Union and the Lampung Farmers Union held a joint rally against the fuel price hike.

The groups said they would organize more protests and were also considering holding mass strikes beginning on Monday.

In Makassar, South Sulawesi, three lawyer groups signed a joint declaration opposing the increase in fuel prices.

The three groups -- the Macassart Lawyers Communication Forum, the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute and the Indonesian Lawyers Union -- said the increase would trigger inflation, cause further impoverishment and increase the crime rate.

Kallo Bandaso, a member of the South Sulawesi legislative council who met with representatives of the organizations, said the council fully supported their demand, and had written to the central government urging a delay in the fuel price increase.

Long lines of cars formed at several gas stations in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province, on Friday, as motorists and speculators tried to beat the price increase.

"We buy the fuel now so we can earn greater profits later," a gasoline retailer said.

The spokesman for the Pertamina office in Banda Aceh, Safari Usman, said Pertamina had a sufficient stock to meet normal fuel demand in the town for 10 days.

In Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, kerosene retailers said shortages forced them to raise their prices to Rp 700 a liter from Rp 450.

In the industrial town of Batam, Riau, gasoline and kerosene retailers also complained of shortages.

In Palu, Central Sulawesi, the Democratic People's Party (PRD) said the fuel price hike would effectively "kill" the poor.

"Even before the fuel prices are increased, the prices of staple goods have already increased," the party said.

In Semarang, Pertamina's local public relations officer, Adrin Umar, said a task force had been assigned to monitor gas stations in the area to prevent parties from stockpiling fuel ahead of Sunday's price increase. (jaw/bsr)