[sustran] Fwd: indonesian fuel price rise

[Paul Barter]

Some excerpts from
Straits Times interactive 
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/primenews/story/0,1870,97245,00.html?

JAN 18, 2002 

Indonesians surprised by fuel-price hike

Many woke up yesterday to increases averaging 22% as govt tries to toe IMF
demands to end hefty subsidies 

By Robert Go  
STRAITS TIMES INDONESIA BUREAU 

JAKARTA - They knew it was coming, but many Indonesians were caught
off-guard by the timing of the government's fuel price-hike announcement
late on Wednesday night.

...

The move complies with demands from the International Monetary Fund and
other international lenders, who have long maintained that the hefty
subsidies benefit the middle class and the rich, and not the poor.

Parliament had already given the green light for price increases of up to 30
per cent this year. 

Police were bracing themselves for mass protests in key cities, including
Jakarta, Surabaya and Yogyakarta, and in Bali, but the reaction yesterday
was muted.

A number of student and labour groups threatened to demonstrate if the
increase was implemented. But perhaps caught out by the timing, only a few
small groups turned out in parts of Jakarta and elsewhere to voice their
anger.

Universiti Kristen Indonesia students burnt old tyres outside their Central
Jakarta campus, as did counterparts at the Universitas Muhammadiyah
Makassar. There were also reports of protests in Surabaya, but these and
other gatherings were peaceful. 

At least 15,000 officers had been mobilised in the capital and were posted
at petrol stations and several strategic locations, including Parliament and
the presidential palace.

Under the new price structure, Indonesia will peg automotive diesel,
industrial diesel, kerosene for industrial use and fuel oil at 75 per cent
of international market prices.

Premium petrol prices will match international prices, while kerosene for
public consumption - crucial to poor Indonesians for their lighting and
cooking needs - will be sold at 600 rupiah (11 Singapore cents ) per litre.
Prices, except for kerosene, will also be allowed to fluctuate monthly,
beginning in March, according to inter- national pricing.

Analysts here said it would be important to see how Ms Megawati's team now
intends to keep the lid on the prices of sembako items - the nine staples
considered crucial to daily life: rice, sugar, cooking oil, corn, flour,
meat, milk, salt and eggs. Prices for some of these commodities, rice in
particular, rose steadily after the government indicated a fuel hike was in
the offing. The last increase was in June last year. 

...

Copyright @ 2001 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. 


Forwarded here for the purposes of education and research.