FOR a month Irawati has not had to think about purchasing natural gas for her kitchen stove. With just a lighter, this 38-year-old housewife can cook rice and fry fish.

“The lighter is for making a fire to light the gas,” said Irawati at her humble abode at RT 13 Makroman subdistrict, Samarinda Ilir district, Samarinda, East Kalimantan.

An old, two-burner gas range sits on a kitchen table. The flame burns blue, the same as a natural gas-po