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.