Thousands protests planned fuel hikes
Thousands protests planned fuel hikes
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Thousands of people took to the streets to protest the
government's plan to raise fuel prices on Oct. 1 to ease the
state's burden of paying for a mushrooming fuel subsidy due to
higher global oil prices.
The plan, announced on Friday, fell short of specifying the
amount that fuel prices would be raised, but it was emphasized
that it would be implemented simultaneously with a low-income
assistance program designed to ease the impact on the country's
millions of impoverished citizens.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla met former vice president Try
Sutrisno in a closed-door meeting on Saturday in which they
reportedly discussed the government's fuel policies, as well as
the recent peace deal with the Free Aceh Movement.
"The most important thing is that we as a large nation should
keep everyone informed about what is going on. Criticizing is
fine, the government should be open to criticism and constructive
advice. We shouldn't make unnecessary moves that will obstruct
the nation's journey," Try was quoted by Antara as saying after
the meeting.
On Thursday, several ex-leaders, including Try, former
presidents Megawati Soekarnoputri and Abdurrahman "Gus Dur"
Wahid, urged the government to drop its plan to increase fuel
prices.
In Jakarta on Sunday, thousands of people from the Islamic
Hizbut Tahrir group, the Alliance of Independent Labor Unions and
several women's groups protested the plan, urging the government
to take other steps to pay for the subsidies without increasing
fuel prices and making poor people suffer more.
A representative of Hizbut Tahrir, Ismail Yusanto, told AFP
that the government should confiscate the assets of corrupt
officials to help pay for the fuel subsidy.
In the East Nusa Tenggara capital of Kupang, protesting
students on Saturday were joined by hundreds of residents, who
were standing in long lines to buy kerosene.
Even though the students were being closely monitored by
security personnel, they managed to seize control of the state
radio station RRI and read their three-page demands live on air
for 15 minutes. The students called on the government to cancel
the fuel plan, as they claimed it would directly affect food
prices.
"The demands are for the sake of the people, so RRI in Kupang
felt obligated to air them live," said the station chief, Pieter
Amalo.
Long lines of vehicles waiting for rationed gasoline were
spotted in many cities, with the worst lines reaching up to five
kilometers long into two gas stations in the Padang Luar area in
the West Sumatra town of Bukittinggi on Saturday.
The fuel shortage also severely hampered public transportation
vehicles from Pekanbaru to Padang on Saturday, after at least 10
filling stations along the 300-kilometer route had begun running
low on gasoline.
Fuel shortages at dozens of gas stations in Pekanbaru prompted
upset residents to urge the government to immediately raise fuel
prices to prevent retailers from hoarding fuel in seek of much
more profits from selling gasoline at higher prices next week.
"The government should not wait any longer to raise the fuel
prices, because the uncertain situation only makes the poor
suffer more," a driver, Apeng, told Antara on Sunday.
He said it was no use to keep the current prices if the supply
was not available. "It's better for the government to raise the
prices and ensure the availability of the supply," he said.