Organda slams lubricant hoarders, call for action

JAKARTA (JP): The Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda) called on the government yesterday to impose harsh penalties on hoarders of lubricants and automotive spare parts.

Chairman Aip Syarifuddin also asked the government to provide special exemptions on import duties for businesses dealing in spare parts.

Without such measures the automotive business will falter since shop owners can no longer cope with the skyrocketing prices following the plunge in value of the rupiah against the U.S. dollar, he said.

Aip said raising land transportation tariffs would not help businesspeople meet their targets because the prices of the lubricants and spare parts were already too high.

"And any hike in transportation tariffs will only burden the public."

To save the industry from bankruptcy, particularly bus companies, a government crackdown on the irresponsible activities of hoarders and dealers is needed, Aip said.

He was quoted by Antara as saying stockpiling activities have caused the shortages and price hikes in lubricants and spare parts over the past few months.

The price of Pertamina's Mesran Prima lubricant, for instance, rose between Rp 7,500 and Rp 11,000 for a one-liter can several days ago at some gas stations. It was previously priced at Rp 5,700.

Some imported lubricants can no longer be found on the shelves of gas and service stations as well as most supermarkets.

"We have no stocks at the moment because we can not even get it from our distributors," the owner of a car repair shop in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, said.

"In the meantime, it's better to sell whatever we have in our shop now instead of buying new items at prices which have skyrocketed."

Some distributors of locally made lubricants have decided to illegally smuggle goods out of the country and sell them to neighboring countries for bigger profits.

Aip said last week's market operation by state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina and its dealers -- which delivered large quantities of lubricants to gas stations across the city -- had failed to stabilize the market.

"The price is still higher and the available stocks are still limited.".

He said traders have not only increased the prices of imported spare parts but also local products.

"The price of tires, for example, which are locally produced, have gone up to Rp 800,000 each from the previous price of Rp 380,000. This is already beyond belief."

Aip said Organda members would meet to discuss their formal proposal to the government.

The organization represents the owners of 10,000 city buses, 3,000 intercity buses and 20,000 taxis.

Jakarta is home to about 70,000 public transportation vehicles, including a large number of mikrolet (minivans). (bsr)