Prevent the prices of basic foods from skyrocketing.

Ka Dhe

Who is the real oil mafia? One barrel of oil equals 158.9 liters. The world price of one barrel of oil: US$75.82.

According to the world'€™s oil refining companies, the price of processing oil should be at around $2 per barrel.

That means after being refined into fuel, the price would be at around $77.82 per barrel or at around Rp 6,400 per liter. Namely, there are the costs of transport, tax and so on. The government still gets profit by selling it at around Rp 7,000 to 7,500 per liter.

Bi Goez

We have to open more oil and gas distributors.

I think there will be four to eight players in distribution. We have to end the monopoly in our energy supply.

Ferril Irham Muzaki

It is a great idea to shift the funds to the right way.

Sinaga Harbili

With the recent downward trend of crude oil prices to a low of US$70-plus, Jokowi should not have increased the price of Premium by Rp 2,000.

Instead it may be better to gradually increase it two or three times. It is difficult for me to accept the reasoning of the increase.

Yusof

I had to fill up my tank before midnight. I might have saved myself Rp 30,000. It was definitely worth it.

JLC

Budget allocations to infrastructure, health, education or other social benefits do not happen overnight. In infrastructure, for example, the budget absorption rate is very low because all major projects are stuck at the land acquisition stage.

We also need to reform our regulations and institutions and increase their capacity if we are to make good use of the extra funds.

Jokowi'€™s next step is naturally to prepare the institutions to make good use of the budget.

Ngukzilla

I do not agree with the increases in fuel prices even though the government has a number of reasons that lead to them because we were not just thinking of inflation in the previous design but also of the people who have difficulty with the price increases.

Heliyana

The real shame is that the government did not make increases of 5 to 10 percent per year starting five to 10 years ago. This would have been so pain-free: a slow process until no fuel subsidies were left and easy for all to factor into.

Omar Opa

Indonesians need to understand that they are already significantly privileged and that many countries in the world are already paying around US$1.30 per liter for low-grade gasoline. That equates to Rp 15,000 per liter.

Indonesia also is way past '€œpeak oil'€ and needs to accept the global forces and the fact that the government will run out of money, perhaps by March 2015. This is, I believe, a two-pronged attack by the Jokowi administration to get extra cash into government coffers, thereby deferring any requests in the House of Representatives to acquire extra funds as former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono certainly made sure that there would not be enough money to go around.

Bay V

Maybe this step helps to get people out of their laziness a bit and makes them walk the 100 meters to the 7/11 instead of pulling the motorbike from the shack.

And standing in line before midnight to get the cheaper fuel? Really? Their tanks probably won'€™t hold more than six liters, so even when they get to the station on empty that saves at most Rp 12,000.

Cukup

Topic of the day

Fuel-price hikes

President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo has announced an increase in the prices of subsidized fuels '€” from Rp 6,500 (53 US cents) to 8,500 for premium gasoline and from Rp 5,500 to 7,500 for diesel fuel. He said his government would shift the subsidies into more productive areas. What should be the government'€™s next step?

Send your thoughts by email, SMS, Twitter or Facebook. Include your name and city.

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