Pertamina admits to halting additive imports
JAKARTA (JP): After more than two months of silence, state oil and gas company Pertamina acknowledged on Thursday to halting the import of Detergent III Plus, an important additive in fuel for motor vehicles, since April 1.
"It was Pertamina's board of commissioners from the government (DKPP) which ordered Pertamina to stop the import of the additive in an attempt to reduce the government's budget burden this year," Pertamina spokesman Toto Suparto told The Jakarta Post.
Pertamina, he said, should therefore not be blamed by consumers due to the absence of the additive in gasoline sold on the market.
"The order came from DKPP and Pertamina only executed the order," he said.
"Pertamina would only be responsible for things which were directly related to its decisions," Toto explained.
Toto said the board was chaired by Minister of Mines and Energy Kuntoro Mangkusubroto and co-chaired by Minister of Finance Bambang Subianto.
The board members included the country's state secretary and chairman of the National Development Planning Board, Toto said.
The import termination of the additive was reported by the business weekly Kontan in early June after being revealed by Pertamina's director Samto Utomo.
The decision sparked resentment among car owners after several cars' engines were reportedly damaged by the absence of the additive in the gasoline sold on the market.
Auto mechanics and experts said the absence of the additive used to help cleanse engines and avoid corrosion had already damaged some vehicles, especially cars that use an injection system.
Luxury cars were mostly affected since their engines were sensitive, said an auto expert, Anton L.Wartawan, on Wednesday.
The country's senior observer of consumer matters, Zoemrotin K. Soesilo, blamed the company for its unfair business practice by not releasing a public announcement to consumers and asked car owners to sue Pertamina.
Evaluation
Praising people's complaints, Toto said the state firm would soon evaluate the impact of the halt to the import of the additive.
"We'll collect gasoline samples and check them at Pertamina's laboratory to find out the impact of the absence of the additive in the gasoline against the performance of motor vehicles," the spokesman said.
"If we find that the absence of Detergent III Plus in the gasoline brings losses to the consumers, Pertamina will evaluate the decision soon," he added.
But Toto insisted that Pertamina did not violate any regulations, including the standard of the gasoline, by omitting the additive.
However, he refused to give details.
The Detergent III Plus additive has been widely used in Indonesia since 1991.
The government at that time argued the additive was important to be used in gasoline for motor vehicles to help cleanse engines, extend engine life, economize on gas consumption and most of all, lower the level of carbon emissions.
The recent termination of the import was mainly aimed at saving funds allocated by the government for the country's fuel subsidy which this year totaled Rp 9 trillion.
"By stopping the additive's import, the state will be saving Rp 320 billion this year," Toto said.
The Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries (Gaikindo) also lashed out at Pertamina for its decision to stop importing the gasoline additive.
"Other countries have even fostered the use of the fifth generation of the detergent additive, which is better quality and much cheaper.
So why do we have to stop the additive's third generation," the association spokesman FX Soeseno told Kontan.
According to Soeseno, it was the government's duty to protect consumers.
"We therefore hope the government is highly aware of the quality of gasoline sold on the market to avoid damage to consumers' cars," he said.
Donny Poerbosanyoto, service manager of BMW's country distributor PT Tjahja Sakti Motor indicated on Tuesday that around 20 BMWs' engines were damaged by the lack of Detergent III Plus in the gasoline. (asa)