GOVERNMENT subsidies for fuel have made Indonesia’s national budget highly susceptible to fluctuations in the world price of oil. The world price for oil skyrocketed twice since 2005, and both times the government raised the price of oil, when it appeared the national budget could not handle the additional burden.

The opposite is now taking place: the world price of oil plunged to US$40 per barrel at the end of 2008. The government should tak