House members call for delay in fuel price hike

Some members of the House of Representatives (DPR) have called on the government to delay the rise in fuel prices beginning April this year, saying most of the precondition set for the proposed fuel hike has been ignored.

Irwan Prayitno, the chairman of the House commission VIII in charge of mines and energy, said in Jakarta on Thursday that there were indications that the government was not ready to curb the social impact from the rise in the fuel price.

He said that confusion related to the distribution of oil subsidies to poor families and public transportation was a good example the unpreparedness of the government in safeguarding the impact from the higher fuel prices.

The House last month approved the increase in the oil price by 12 percent in order to cut oil subsidy for the April-December budget. Poor families and public transportation, however, will be exempt from the rise.

The government said that it would issue coupons to the poor families and public transportation owners to enable them to buy fuel at current prices. But the plan was cancelled because the cost for the production of the coupons was nearly equivalent to the money to be spent for the subsidy. The government then said it would distribute cash through postal offices to eligible subsidy recipients, inciting more concerns about the possible corruption and graft. (*)