J

strong>July 31, p7

A relentless choir of praise ensued when President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo announced in mid-November an end to fuel subsidy allocations '€” the government'€™s biggest ever conspicuous spending nurtured for more than three decades.

Such a daring reform earned Jokowi an '€œAAA-leader rating'€ from many overseas and domestic business luminaries as the policy would see the reallocation of some Rp 200 trillion (US$15 billion) worth of fuel subsidies for productive spending, such as for roads, dams and ports. (By Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta)

Your comments:

The reason many people use more petrol in their vehicle than necessary is that engine tuning during servicing is not normally done and tire pressure is usually not checked.

With all the above done, together with an additive for engine oil and an additive for petrol (which removes water in fuel tanks) petrol usage will be reduced by 20 to 30 percent.

So proper and habitual maintenance of vehicles is important for the wallet. I found out that the petrol additive used in motorcycles, boats and agriculture vehicles/machines gave the same positive result.

Teh C Siang

There can be no sustainable economic program without first establishing a sustainable political platform that will let you do your actual work. This is a basic principle that is so obvious, yet one many don'€™t grasp.

Let me also refresh you: We all knew from the start that Mr. President has no political base of his own, so it is no surprise either that he now struggles with his leadership.

Those who once prided themselves on being his supporters are now abandoning him and even turning against him. To be fair, we can'€™t blame them.

As this article illustrates, the situation does not look good. However, in terms of political chess play such an action does not help.

He needs all the help he can get to keep his political platform afloat, so that he and his team can focus on solving the real problems.

When things get rough, the worst army you can have, is an army of deserters. Perhaps the conclusion now is that Mr. President is not ready to lead the nation.

Too late. We all have chosen him, so we all bear the responsibility for the current situation. We still have four and a half years to go, which is a long time. Stick with him, keep supporting him. With some luck, we can all reach the end line with minimum scratches.

Sudarshana Chakra

We would have supported him if he asked us. If Jokowi had appealed to the people, especially in regard to the maiming of the KPK, they would have taken to the streets to support him.

It is not that we abandoned Jokowi. He abandoned the people. He shot their sacred cow.

He has literally had people shot for political interests. We did not expect miracles.

If Jokowi had showed real signs of fighting back and had appealed to the people to support him they would have rallied around him. Instead, he has rolled over too quickly and too eagerly.

Atom

The government is deathly afraid of the public outcry and demonstrations that would definitely occur if they actually followed their own agenda.

Charles Jarret

I have been talking about this topic for months. The Indonesian government has been employing a '€œsmoke and mirrors'€ economic campaign in the hope of hiding just how bad the economy really is. This Pertamina fiasco is proof that Jokowi'€™s promises were empty and that he had an unrealistic view of economics. I really want to know where all that gasoline subsidy money went to.

That leads me to my next point. I believe there is no money for infrastructure projects. All that '€œinvestment'€ and FDI has been spent on operating expenses just to keep the government alive. Export income has fallen off a cliff.

The government has resorted to import bans and currency controls (rupiah only transactions) to hoard dollars to try and prop up the rupiah and pay down foreign debts.

With more and more protectionist and nationalistic economic policies being introduced on a weekly basis to prop up unproductive and inefficient domestic manufacturers, you are going to see more inflation and higher prices. The Indonesian government is trying to control the economy instead of freely allowing market forces to decide who wins and who loses.

Expect things to get much worse. The Indonesian government is on life support right now, gasping for financial oxygen.

S Dollar

The fundamental issue here is that the political powers that be (i.e. elected officials) still continue to fear the Indonesian masses.

Any hike in fuel prices always first takes into consideration potential social unrest before the consideration of what a hike would mean for the country'€™s finances and long-term success.

Fortunately this fear of the masses doesn'€™t extend to those involved in corruption or suppression of rights '€” aka the unelected real leadership of the country.

They act with impunity regardless of the public outcry, which often, sadly, remains relegated to these types of forums. Those people claiming that the new revolution is coming are the same ones who will sit at home if it ever does.

Indo H