Kerosene shortages irk residents in West Java

Kerosene shortages irk residents in West Java

Nana Rukmana and Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Kuningan, Bandung

Housewives in Indramayu, Majalengka, Cirebon, Kuningan, Subang
and Karawang were upset when they found it hard to buy kerosene
for their daily needs.

In the downtown area of the West Java capital Bandung the
supply returned to normal on Thursday, while in suburban areas
like Ciwedey the commodity was still difficult to obtain.

In the regencies of Kuningan, Indramayu, Cirebon and
Majalengka people had to line up for hundreds of meters simply to
buy kerosene.

The high demand for kerosene has resulted in its price rising
considerably. People had to pay Rp 1,300 to Rp 1,600 for one
liter of kerosene, while the official price is only Rp 650.

This situation has raised serious concern from the local
councillors. Speaker of Kuningan Legislative Council Ading
Akhyadi told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that the Council would
summon all parties involved in the supply and distribution of
kerosene in Kuningan.

"We've investigated and discovered that kerosene disappeared
two weeks ago. If there is any, it is only a small amount and the
price is very high. This has made people frustrated," said Ading.

Meanwhile speaker of Indramayu regency legislative council
Iwan Hendrawan said that the Council had registered a strong
protest with parties responsible for kerosene supply, including
state oil and gas company PT Pertamina. "We'll summon them soon.
They must explain what is going on. Such a situation could
trigger violence. This concerns people at the grass roots."

Both Ading and Iwan said that many people had hoarded kerosene
and were keeping it until the government announced the new price.
"In that way they will reap a large benefit," Iwan said.

Cirebon Police chief Sr. Comr. Sardjono shared the
councillors' belief, saying that speculators were behind the
disappearance of the kerosene.

He said he had asked subordinates to investigate what really
lay behind the shortage. "We are worried the situation could lead
to social unrest."

Head of the Pertamina's Balongan depot at Indramayu, Lukmana,
told The Jakarta Post that there was nothing wrong with the
supply. "We supply a total of 1,080 kiloliters per day to the
five regencies. There have been no requests for any additional
supply."

An official at a company in charge of distributing kerosene in
Cirebon, Hiswanamigas, also claimed that supply was adequate. "I
have no idea why kerosene is disappearing. As far as I know the
supply and distribution are normal."

In a separate interview, head of the communications office of
Pertamina in Bandung Edi Adrian said that the scarcity of
kerosene in Bandung and its surroundings was due to speculators.

He gave an assurance that, at a total of 33,000 kiloliters,
the stock of kerosene for West Java was adequate for the next
nine days. The stock is stored at three separate depots, at
Ujungberung, Padalarang and Tasikmalaya.