Minor rallies mark fuel price hike

JAKARTA (JP): The first day of the fuel price hike passed without major public upheaval on Sunday, despite a few protests in Jakarta and Bandung, and rumors of bigger demonstrations in other towns.

In Jakarta, about 1,000 people from several labor unions protested in front of the Presidential Palace demanding that the government cancel the fuel price increase.

Protesters came from, among other groups, the National Front for Indonesian Workers Struggle (FNPBI), the Reformed All Indonesian Workers Union (SPSI Reformasi), the Indonesian Prosperous Labors Union (SBSI), and the Confederation of Indonesian Labor Unions (Gaspermindo).

Jakarta Police declared on Saturday an Alert One status for the capital. As many as 18,000 police personnel were placed on alert until Tuesday to anticipate possible disturbances.

No problems occurred in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar on Sunday after eighteen students of the Makassar State University were arrested on Saturday for hijacking three gasoline tank trucks loaded with fuel.

In Medan, North Sumatra, students' plans to hold a huge demonstration on Sunday turned out to be an empty threat.

But on Saturday, students there did set a gasoline station on fire. No one was arrested in the incident and no fatalities were reported.

Semarang was also quiet with no lines of motorists waiting to buy gasoline.

In Bandung dozens of students grouped in New Alliance for Democracy protested the increase in fuel price by an average of 12 percent. The non-violent action was filled with orations, calling for people to be aware of the government's mistake.

In Yogyakarta, everything was also under control.

As approved by the House of Representatives in February, the price of premium gasoline is now Rp 1,150 or Rp 150 higher than before. Diesel fuel now costs Rp 600 per liter, while the old price was Rp 550; kerosene is now Rp 350, or Rp 70 higher than before; while bunker oil rose to Rp 400 from Rp 350.

Ramli Djaffar, spokesman for the Jakarta office of the state oil and gas company Pertamina, told The Jakarta Post the demand for gasoline, especially Premium gasoline and automotive diesel fuel in Jakarta had increased in the past week.

"Premium gasoline demand increased 29 percent, while diesel fuel increased 43 percent. But we anticipated by preparing gasoline stocks for the next 23 days and kerosene stocks for the next 25 days," Ramli said.

Pertamina has prepared the monthly stocks for the capital of 7,600 kiloliters of gasoline, consisting of premium gasoline, automotive diesel fuel, kerosene and bunker oil.

"If there is any delay in the distribution, it is not because we are out of supplies but simply because we have only one station in Plumpang, North Jakarta to distribute fuel for the whole city," Ramli said.

The protests

The Jakarta protesters threatened on Sunday to stage massive and continuing rallies if the government refused to cancel the price increases.

"It's impossible for us to make the government call off the policy through discussions. That's why we have to go to the streets," FNPBI coordinator Dita Indah Sari said in her oration.

"If the government still refuses to cancel the new policy, we will continue to stage rallies tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and so on," Dita said.

In Makassar, students and public transport drivers threatened to stage huge protests on Monday.

"The students want the government to delay the policy, while the drivers want the local administration to allow them to increase fares," a student, who wanted anonymity, said on Saturday.

Makassar students have shown persistence by staging at three sequential rallies. The provincial legislative council also expressed disagreement with the fuel price hikes.

Bandung students vowed to continue protesting should the government fail to delay or cancel the policy.

Jakarta demonstrators also demanded wages to be raised by 100 percent saying that it had become more and more difficult for laborers to buy daily needs with their current minimum wage of Rp 344,500 per month in the Jakarta area.

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Alhilal Hamdi who met with the protesters in front of the presidential palace said that the fuel hike was appropriate.

"Seventy percent of the government's fuel subsidy went to those who do not need it, such as those who own expensive cars, while only 30 percent of the subsidy went to the poor," Alhilal said.

Alhilal said that postponing the policy, initially slated for April, cost the government Rp 41.3 trillion instead of Rp 22.4 trillion to subsidize the fuel.

"We will continue to protest. We will stage a massive rally all over the country on October 10," labor activist and SBSI chairman Mochtar Pakpahan said.

The rally ended peacefully after Alhilal left the site.

Meanwhile, House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung urged the government to actively report the findings of the government's price control team in a bid to avoid the fuel price hikes affecting other goods and services.

"The government must actively talk to businessmen and people. We also urged them not to take advantage of the situation by raising other prices such as for staples," he said.

"We (the House) are informed by the government that the allowed price increase is no more than three percent," Akbar said after commemorating the National Tragedy due to the Betrayal of Pancasila on Sunday morning. (team)