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)