TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo reiterated his determination to combat oil and gas mafia, in order to reduce fuel imports and strengthen Indonesia's economy. Jokowi said the government will also seek new, renewable sources of energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

"There are those who do not want to be interfered with—both in oil and LPG. This is what I want to eradicate," the President remarked during his speech at the 2019 Bank Indonesia Annual Meeting at the Raffles Hotel in Jakarta, Thursday, November 28.

The government, Widodo said, will process coal into synthetic gas and turn that into dimethyl ether instead of LPG. This, he said, is actually a long-time plan which never materialized because there are people monopolizing the imports of oil and gas.

The government, according to the president, knows who these people are.

"As I have said before, anyone who disrupts [oil and gas] will get bitten by me," the president asserted.

The former Jakarta governor also said that the use of palm oil derivatives as biofuels is also being developed. "B20 is underway. Soon, in January, we will start B30 followed by B50. This means that our oil imports will decline drastically so that our trade balance and current account will be better," Jokowi said.

ANTARA | EKO WAHYUDI