No fuel? Don't panic, says SBY
No fuel? Don't panic, says SBY
As the gasoline shortage worsened across the country on
Wednesday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told people not to
panic, saying the government was gradually increasing the
country's supplies, which would be back to normal soon.
Susilo said the government was also drafting regulations on
energy saving and plans for alternative power generation.
"Please, don't panic. Don't bring jerrycans to gas stations. I
assure you that fuel supplies will be back to normal soon," he
said on Wednesday.
"We're trying to curb fuel consumption, particularly for
unnecessary purposes. That will take some time. The fuel saving
program is for a long-term period."
Susilo met with officials from the People's Consultative
Assembly, the House of Representatives, the Regional
Representatives Council, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Audit
Agency and the Central Bank to discuss the shortages and the
ballooning cost of the government's fuel subsidy.
The government is trying to bring the country's fuel supplies
back to their normal level of an average of 22 days in reserve,
from the current 18 days. It has ordered all state and government
institutions -- including the National Police and the Indonesian
Military -- to start saving fuel in their operations.
"I will explain more to the public about the fuel problem
soon, and I will also call on people to reduce their fuel
consumption to a moderate level so that we can meet the fuel
subsidy allocations in the state budget," Susilo said.
Indonesia is facing fuel supply problems due to increasing
domestic demand and rising global oil prices. The current demand
for oil is 10 percent higher than this year's 59.6 million
kiloliter production target set by the government.
Increasing oil prices earlier forced the government to revise
up the amount that it spent on the national fuel subsidy, from Rp
19 trillion (US$1.94 billion) to Rp 76.5 trillion, assuming
global oil prices averaging $45 a barrel. While it saved some
money by cutting subsidies for certain petroleum products earlier
this year, global prices have risen past the $45 mark and are
currently hovering around $60. -- JP