President opposes MPs' call to lower fuel prices

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyo made it clear during a consultation meeting with members of the House of Representatives (DPR) on Monday that the government would not withdraw its decision to increase the fuel prices despite a strong protest from a number of parties in the parliament, Koran Tempo reported on Tuesday.

During the meeting, the President told the members of the parliament (MPs) that the price increase was the only alternative possible to further curb the sharp increase in the fuel subsidy amid soaring international oil prices.

The government recently raised the price of fuels by an average of 29 percent in a bid o reduce the subsidy. But a number of the political parties including the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-Perjuangan), PKS, PAN and PPP strongly opposed the fuel price increase. The other parties including Golkar, Demokrat and Bintang strongly backed the fuel price increase.

Meanwhile the House speaker Agung Laksono said that all the political parties in the parliament agreed to hold a plenary session to further discuss the House members' position related to the fuel price increase.

He, however, said that the House members would not go for voting during the plenary session. According to him, the plenary session would only hear a report from respective parties about their position in the fuel price increase. (*)