JK Proposes Fuel Price Increase, Gibran: Not in Line with President's Directive
Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka has responded to the proposal by Jusuf Kalla regarding an increase in the price of subsidised fuel (BBM). This proposal from the 10th and 12th Vice President was made amid the potential energy crisis due to the war in West Asia.
Gibran stated that the government appreciates the proposal to raise fuel prices. However, he said, the proposal does not align with President Prabowo Subianto’s instructions.
“President Prabowo has clearly and firmly ordered his apparatus to maintain the stability of subsidised fuel prices,” Gibran said in a written statement on Thursday, 9 April 2026.
According to him, the commitment to maintaining fuel subsidies is intended so that low-income people can afford fuel for motor vehicles. Instead of raising fuel prices, Gibran said the government is focusing on policies that do not impact the lower strata of society.
“The government is determined to carry out efficiency and budget refocusing to protect the lower strata of society from being burdened by the chain effects of fuel price increases,” he said.
Gibran assessed that a fuel price increase would instead cause the prices of basic necessities and transportation costs to rise. The government, he said, is also continuing to push for the acceleration of the transition to the use of electric vehicles and renewable energy.
Previously, former Vice President Jusuf Kalla proposed that the government consider reducing fuel subsidies amid the potential energy crisis due to the war in West Asia. According to Kalla, reducing subsidies could be a strategy to curb the budget deficit.
Kalla stated that this policy is commonly applied in other countries, even though it impacts fuel price increases. “We request that reducing the deficit and debt be considered by reducing subsidies,” Kalla said at his home on Jalan Brawijaya, Kebayoran Baru, on Sunday, 5 April 2026.
Kalla assessed that fuel prices that are too cheap due to subsidies, as they are now, actually encourage people to consume energy excessively. This hampers conservation efforts.
“Indeed, some say it should not be raised. Yes, that’s true, not raising it might be good temporarily. But debt will pile up with large subsidies. That is the most dangerous for all of us. If there’s debt, we all get hit,” said Kalla.
Kalla did not deny that reducing subsidies and raising fuel prices would spark public protests. However, according to Kalla, the policy is necessary to curb the state budget deficit.