The sacrifices made by the public must be rewarded

The sacrifices made by the public must be rewarded

Benget Simbolon Tnb., Jakarta

It was very distressing to see the reactions of people across
the country over the last few weeks to the government's decision
to raise fuel prices.

It was even more saddening to see their dismay when they
finally learned that the government had decided to increase fuel
prices by an average of 126.6 percent, with kerosene -- mostly
used by the poor -- taking the biggest hit -- up from Rp 700 (65
U.S. cents) to Rp 2,000, far exceeding the previous plan for
increases of between 50 percent and 80 percent.

For the poor, it was a nightmare that had come true. The
hikes, which some analysts considered too much, will certainly
have a domino effect on the prices of other goods and services,
increasing inflation to an unbearable level, and swelling the
ranks of the destitute.

Considering that their lives have been very difficult ever
since the economic crisis in 1997, this will be another blow for
them.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that the government
had no choice but to increase fuel prices to save the country.
"It is not an easy choice. I understand that this is a bitter
pill but I have to do it to safeguard the country's economy and
the country's future," he said.

Saying that the government had designed a number of programs
to help the poor, by among other things distributing cash
compensation payments, he asked the general public to understand
the increases and willingly make sacrifices for a better future.

This is the second time the government has asked for the
people's understanding after doing so in March, when it decided
to raise fuel prices by an average of 29 percent.

Of course, the people will understand that sacrifices are a
prerequisite for achieving a better future. This is reflected in
the Javanese saying: Jer basuki mawa bea (Sacrifice is required
to achieve prosperity). And all sacrifices will make people
suffer.

Actually, suffering, as most religions teach, is a process of
transformation leading to a better life.

As suffering teaches us lessons, it empowers us as well as
enlightening us about how we should improve our lives in the
future.

While happiness involves people immersing themselves in
enjoying what they have, suffering will force them to be creative
in getting things done and realizing what they have.

But the question now is, will the people believe that this
time their suffering will lead to prosperity? Or will they see
that it is no longer worth it, particularly in the light of their
past experiences?

The way ahead is very much dependent on the government alone.

The people might fear that the problems of corruption,
mismanagement, and ministers' and legislators' devotion to their
political parties could derail the oil policy from its main goal
of producing a better life for the whole nation.

The media have reported many stories in the past that have
validated such fears. Corruption, for example, is still rampant.
Last year, according to the World Bank report, only 18 percent of
the rice provided in a special program called raskin (rice for
the poor) was actually distributed to poor people across the
archipelago.

The corruption problem is worsening. And the unscrupulous
officials committing such crimes go unpunished.

Many people fear that the recently increasing tendency of
commercializing politics and politicizing the commercial world
will hamper the government's efforts to implement the oil policy
so that it can truly bring prosperity.

The government, therefore, should work to eliminate the
public's fears. It should launch an all-out public campaign to
assure people that it will also make sacrifices of its own in
implementing the policy. And it will make serious efforts to
bring prosperity to the nation, which has long been blighted by
the multidimensional crisis.

If the government can do this, then the public will see that
their suffering will not be like the suffering of a tree doomed
to die due to its being smothered by parasitic plants. Rather, it
will like the suffering of a plant seedling taken from the
seedbed to be transplanted in fertile soil so that it can thrive
and bear fruit.

The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post.