Indonesian government sharply raises fuel prices
New Straits Times – Wed, Nov 19, 2014
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s president announced a sharp increase in fuel prices on Monday, saying costly government subsidies would be better spent on infrastructure and development.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo announced the price hikes at the state palace, flanked by economic and social affairs ministers.
The price of petrol will be raised from RM1.78 to RM2.35 per litre, and diesel fuel from RM1.51 to RM2.05, effective yesterday.
Police were deployed to guard some petrol stations here as long lines of cars and motorbikes waited to fill their tanks before the increases took effect at midnight.
“Fromtime to time, as a nation, we are faced with difficult choices,” said Jokowi, who had vowed to be ready to make unpopular decisions for the sake of the people.
“However, we have to choose and make a decision.” He said the government held a series of discussions and decided it was better to switch the subsidies to productive investment.
The announcement came as the global price of oil has plummeted 31 per cent in just five months, a surprising drop after a four-year period of prices near or above US$100 (RM335) a barrel.
On Monday, the price of oil fell 96 cents to US$74.94 a barrel in New York. AP
