The pie is small, but many want it—nothing less than the biggest slice. How is it to be fairly distributed? That's the problem the government is facing in determining the general allocation fund (DAU) for the draft state budget (RAPBN) for year 2002.

The supply is actually bigger than the previous year's, up from Rp60.5 trillion to Rp66.3 trillion. However, demands are higher as well. It is small wonder that protests are resounding although