Experts say govt must intensify campaign over plans to raise fuel price

The government must intensify campaign to the public over plans to raise fuel prices, according to experts surveyed by Bisnis Indonesia daily.

University of Indonesia economist Muhamad Ikhsan said that the decision to delay the increase in the fuel prices must be used to further socialize the necessity to raise fuel prices.

Ikhsan said that the previous administration of former president Soeharto would always summon editors of the mass media as the first target of campaign every time it planned to raise fuel prices.

The government initially planned to raise fuel prices early this month, but it cancelled the plan last week amid increasing protest by students.

But President Abdurrahman Wahid said that the delay was made because the government was not yet ready to implement the subsidy system. Under the plan, the government would still provide subsidy to poor families to purchase kerosene at current price level, and to public transportation firms to purchase gasoline and automotive diesel at current price level.

The government was considering a coupon system or a direct transfer of cash for the subsidy.

Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) economist Pande Raja Silalahi said that socializing the plans to raise fuel prices must be a top priority to minimize the political disturbance of the policy.

He said that so far the current administration had been very weak in designing an effective campaign. He suspected that there were certain ministers who thought that campaign was not a priority.

Legislator Irwan Prayitno conceded. He said that the protest made by militant students showed that the government had been very weak in campaigning and socializing the fuel policy. (*)