Back and Forth on Subsidized Fuel

DURING President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration, gasoline prices have risen four times and dropped once. Changes in the policy have always drawn widespread criticism because the issue touches the heart of Indonesia's economy. Last time around, to compensate for raising the price of oil-based fuel (OBF), the government distributed a monthly Rp150,000 to every poor household.

Now the government has moved to trim the subsidy by decreasing consumption, because raising prices are feared to carry a risk of bringing about social unrest. Since the enactment of the policy in July, no Premium gasoline can be bought at gas stations on toll roads. In Central Jakarta, stations are forbidden to sell subsidized diesel fuel.