TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Deputy Minister of Finance Bambang Brodjonegoro urged state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina to evenly distribute fuel so that long queues in the gas-filling stations and fuel scarcity in several regions will not happen again.
According to Bambang, the tightening of fuel allocation as part of the government’s measure to restrict fuel usage should be accompanied with distribution adjusted to the needs in certain regions.
"I think what caused the long queues and fuel scarcity not so long ago is because the restriction is way too tight. But we have to realize hat many gas stations did not experience fuel shortage," he said.
The government, he said, cannot avoid taking measures to keep the quota of 46 kiloliters.
However, Bambang said that PT Pertamina as the operator can count carefully the fuel distribution.
Bambang added that the quota that has been approved by the government and the House of Representatives (DPR RI) in the 2014 revised State Budget cannot be changed in the near future although he admitted the government regulation in lieu of the law (perpu) might change the quota.
Furthermore, Bambang also called on the people not to easily panic to every efficiency measure that the government makes.
"We call on the people not to buy fuel excessively. Buy according to your need,” he said.
For the record, Pertamina’s measures to restrict the selling subsidized fuel selling has caused fuel scarcity and long queues in the gas stations in several places in Indonesia.
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