East Kalimantan rejects fuel price increase

The House of Representatives of East Kalimantan decided Tuesday to reject the recent central government policy to raise fuel prices by an average of 12 percent, the local Kaltim Post daily reported.

The paper said that the decision was taken at a meeting by the leaders of the House factions.

The meeting has also assigned House Speaker Sukardi Djawo Putro to deliver the decision to the central government in Jakarta.

But deputy speaker Kasyful As'ad later told reporters that there was little prospect the central government would provide an exemption to East Kalimantan, one of the country's oil-rice provinces.

The government raised fuel prices by an average of 12 percent early this month in a bid to reduce the fuel subsidy and ease down the burden of the state budget.

The East Kalimantan students have recently staged a rally to protest the fuel price increase. The rally turned violent as students clashed with security officers. (*)