Organda slams lubricant hoarders, call for action

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)