Jakartans start to feel the bite of fuel shortage

Jakartans start to feel the bite of fuel shortage

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Kupang/Jambi

Antonius was irate when he saw a sign posted at a gasoline
station here, telling the public that there was no more gasoline.
He quickly drove his Daihatsu Taruna to another gasoline station
in West Jakarta, and to his relief, they still had fuel there.
"But, due to the long line of vehicles, I still had to queue for
nearly half an hour to get the fuel," he told The Jakarta Post.

Antonius is one among many Jakarta residents feeling the bite
of the fuel shortage. Residents were panicky on Monday as the
fuel shortage has been going on since Saturday, but to date, it
is still uncertain how long it will last.

As public resentment ran high, the embattled city government
assured the public that the fuel supply would return to normal by
Friday. "Please, don't panic," said assistant to the Jakarta
secretary for the economy, Makmun Amin, while quoting a statement
from officials of the state oil and gas company PT Pertamina.

The fuel shortage hit the capital as Pertamina reduced the
premium gasoline supply last weekend as part of efforts to test
the waters before it went ahead with a plan to reduce premium
gasoline supply by between 5 percent and 10 percent of the
current supply of 62.5 million kiloliters. The trial was carried
out on Saturday in Jakarta and Surabaya. The government plans to
proceed with the cut in the supply only if public protests are
manageable.

In the long run, the supply reduction is aimed at returning
fuel consumption nationwide to be on a par with the quota for
domestic oil consumption set by the government this year at 59.6
million kiloliters.

While fuel shortages have hit the capital and Surabaya since
Saturday, other regions had already felt the bite of the fuel
shortage a few weeks ago. The fuel shortage in the regions was
attributed to fuel smuggling and hoarding.

The fuel shortage has led to long queues at gasoline stations.
The shortage has also caused the price of fuel to increase,
adding to people's misery.

In Kupang city, East Nusa Tenggara province, motorists had
formed long queues at several fuel stations in the city since
Monday morning, but they left in disappointment as the stations
were still closed until noon on Monday. Only police personnel
were seen in the vicinity while gasoline station employees were
absent. The fuel shortage has caused the price of fuel to rise
twofold from Rp 2,500 to Rp 5,000 in Namosaian subdistrict in the
city.

In Jambi province, diesel fuel has been unavailable for the
past few days. The long queues in front of gasoline stations
across the city caused traffic jams. The Jakarta Post has learned
that the fuel shortage occurred as the fuel stations opted to
sell the fuel to industries rather than the public as the
industries were willing to pay more. The practice is prohibited
but it still occurs.

In the South Sumatra city of Palembang, panicky residents
flocked in droves to gasoline stations and try to buy fuel in
large amounts. Fearing the fuel may run out, the residents filled
the tanks of their cars and motorcycles.