T

his is a time for the government to maintain deafness over the plans to increase fuel prices. It is not because I blindly support the decision, but we need a government that can show decisiveness and consistency in policies. Increasing fuel prices always creates dilemmas and problems. This is a political game, not just a calculation of numbers or profits and loss.

Impacted by soaring global fuel prices of more than US$110 per barrel these days, the government reasons that the state budget will be in deficit if fuel subsidies are not cut. Is it as simple as that?

Well, the government surely has evaluated the risks of any decision, so to Mr. President and the related ministers: please don’t sway with the wind, just be firm. No matter what decision is taken, either to go ahead with the plan or delay or even cancel it, the government’s decision will be criticized.

Some energy analysts as well as economists who oppose the plan comment that government policy on energy management is not prudent. This is mismanagement, they say. It may be correct — considering we are a country very rich in natural resources. But after 14 years of reform movement, who can manage the energy and natural resources properly for the sake of people as mandated by our Constitution?

That will be a long discourse but today we should face facts that subsidized fuel is enjoyed by those who do not need subsidies. Pertamina, the state-owned oil company, can only remind car owners with banners pasted on every fuel station: “Subsidized fuel is only for those who are not able to afford it.” Does this reminder work? We can see there are still many private luxury cars queuing in the fuel stations to join the bajaj (three-wheeled taxis) and angkot (public minibuses).

This is not the first fuel price hike. Several times we have experienced in Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s (SBY) term of office how decisions to increase fuel prices always cause outcry. But this time, maybe the outcry is louder. Not because people are afraid of hardship, but because trust has gone.

The government says the state budget is in deficit, but we see the thieves who steal state money every day, and the President’s Democratic Party is in trouble with several senior members implicated in corruption. If the government could prevent these state losses, we might not need to talk about subsidies.

Now if the government is adamant over the plan to increase full prices, we would suggest they ask advice from the people, not from the lawmakers who are sitting in the House of Representatives. If the lawmakers prefer sitting on the (now canceled) imported Rp 24 million ($2,600) chairs, can they represent people who don’t even have somewhere to lay their heads?

The government really needs to understand people who are still living below the poverty line — then think hard and provide solutions to secure their basic needs, or at least fill their stomachs, because an empty stomach is not a good political adviser, said Albert Einstein.