Pertamina director sued for price hike

Pertamina director sued for price hike

JAKARTA (JP): The Central Jakarta District Court began hearing
on Tuesday a class action lawsuit filed against the state-owned
Pertamina oil and gas company for its "arbitrary" decision to
increase the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 40
percent.

The suit was filed by Kapak LPG, an alliance of 20 lawyers
from the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI), the Jakarta
chapter of the Legal Aid Institute, the Indonesian Lawyers
Association, the Indonesian Legal Aid Center and the Indonesian
Center for Environmental Law.

They filed the suit against both Pertamina and the Government
Commissary Council over the 40 percent increase in the price of
LPG, as outlined in a decree issued by Pertamina director Baihaki
Hakim last November.

The price of LPG rose to Rp 2,100 per kilogram (about 22 US
cents) from Rp 1,500.

The lawyers said YLKI had invited Hakim to explain to
consumers the decision to increase the price of LPG, but he
refused the invitation and sent a subordinate in his place.

This is the first class action filed since the 1999 consumer
protection law took effect last April. (sim)