MPR Deputy Speaker Urges Public to Stay Calm Over Fuel Supplies: We Only Source 20% from the Middle East

Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), Eddy Soeparno, has urged the public to stay calm in response to fuel reserves (BBM) amid mounting tension in the Middle East following the US-Israel strike on Iran. He said Indonesia’s fuel supply remains secure. ‘I urge the public to remain calm and not to worry, because at present we still have a stock of BBM for 20 days, and fuel supply to Indonesia remains smooth,’ he told reporters on Saturday, 7 March 2026.

The member of Commission XII of the DPR said Indonesia only draws 20% of its BBM from the Middle East. He said the majority of BBM Indonesia obtains comes from countries not affected by the war in the Middle East. ‘We only source 20% of our BBM from the Middle East. The rest comes from places not affected by the conflict,’ he said.

Soeparno said the authorities would contact Pertamina’s management to issue advisories to the public. He noted that people should not panic about BBM reserves. ‘Therefore I will immediately after this contact the management of Pertamina Patra Niaga to issue advisories to people in regions where a BBM rush is occurring so they can be reassured,’ he said.

Earlier, several residents in Aceh were seen queuing to buy BBM, carrying jerrycans. The lines stretched to the roads. According to detikSumut on Friday (6 March), a video showing residents queuing in Aceh Tengah went viral on social media. Residents went to petrol stations and Pertashop carrying jerrycans of various sizes. Not only at petrol stations, residents also bought BBM in large quantities from retailers. On average, people poured their oil into jerrycans. In Aceh Tengah as well as at five petrol stations in Banda Aceh, the queues involved two- and four-wheeled vehicles, sometimes extending onto the road and causing some traffic congestion.