Legislator suspects political maneuver behind shortages of fuel
Baihaki and other directors asked to step down
Tuesday, July 25 2000 - 04:00 AM WIB
The current shortages of the Premium gasoline in Java and Bali were part of a political maneuvering with the goal of toppling President Abdurrahman Wahid, a legislator said.
Irwan Prayitno, head of the House of Representatives' Commission VIII, which oversees mines and energy, said the reasons cited by state oil and gas company Pertamina behind the shortages of gasoline were unreasonable.
"There is something behind the shortages of Premium gasoline. Pertamina and Minister of Mines and Energy have to explain about this to the public," Irwan was quoted by Kompas daily as saying on Monday.
Pertamina and Bambang earlier cited the shutdown of Pertamina's refinery in Balongan, West Java as one of the reasons behind the shortages of Premium gasoline.
They also said the state company was facing problems in importing high octane mogas component (HOMC), which is the raw material for the making of Premium gasoline, from Kuwait following a recent fire accident at the country's refinery that usually supplied the product to Pertamina.
They also said the state company was facing difficulties to import Premium gasoline from Singapore due to the rising demand in the United States.
"Don't blame Balongan for the lack of gasoline. Balongan only supplies 12 percent of the national demand," Prayitno said.
Prayitno said Pertamina should have anticipated the problems by preparing Premium gasoline stock not only enough for days but up to one year.
Meanwhile, another legislator Hasanuddin Mohdar blamed Pertamina's president Baihaki Hakim for the shortages of Premium gasoline, noting that Pertamina was responsible for the distribution of fuel
"We strongly protest the gasoline shortages. Pertamina's president Baihaki Hakim rather than Minister of Mines and Energy Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is responsible for this," Mohdar was quoted by Republika as saying.
Legislator Ramson Siagian called on Pertamina's board of directors to step down if they were unable to secure gasoline supplies in the country.
"If Pertamina's board of directors are unable to handle the fuel distribution, they would be better to step down," he said.
Ramson also called for the revocation of the monopoly rights of Pertamina's subsidiary PT Elnusa Patra Teknik to maintain all refineries in the country, citing that the persistent problem at the Balongan refinery proved its poor performance. (*)