UNDER the scorching sun, Ahmad Sofyan incessantly babbled and wiped his perspiring face. The 32 year-old rider of a motorbike had to stand in a long line at a filling station on Jalan Kenjeran, Surabaya, last Monday.

As time went by, the endlessly snaking queue became even longer. The filling station hand frantically tried to serve the buyers—most of whom were after premium-brand gasoline or benzine. But there just was not enough