Indonesia's Energy Ministry Affirms No Purchase Restriction on Subsidized Fuel
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19 July 2024 16:07 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Secretary General of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Dadan Kusdiana said that the ministry is still working on a new plan to distribute subsidized fuel, stressing that no restriction will be imposed.
Dadan said the Indonesian government wanted to ensure the fuel subsidy distribution was right on target. "Once again, this is not a restriction, we just want to ensure the subsidy is accurate,” said Dadan on Friday, July 19, 2024.
Dadan ensured that the government would still distribute subsidized fuel based on necessity. However, as subsidized fuel is often purchased by those who are not entitled to it, the government aims to boost its distribution accuracy. "We will affirm which groups are entitled to Pertalite,” he said.
The fuel subsidy restriction issue was brought to light after the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said restrictions were necessary to avoid wasting the state budget.
"We hope to reduce subsidized fuel for those undeserving starting August 17,” said Luhut in an Instagram post on Tuesday, July 9, 2024.
This claim was later denied by Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin Tasrif, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, and President Joko Widodo.
Airlangga then held a meeting on fuel policy on Tuesday this week, again affirming that there would be no restriction on subsidized fuel purchases. However, he said the government was still preparing the program scenario to ensure fair distribution, which will be later delivered to President Jokowi.
Member of Commission VII of the House of Representatives of DPR Mulyanto urged the government to refrain from rushing the issuance of subsidy fuel restrictions despite the vehement denial from the president and his ministers. "Because I suspect it's just a euphemism," Mulyanto told Tempo via messaging application on Thursday, July 18, 2024.
The government must disseminate the plan on subsidy restriction and explain which vehicles are covered in the plan before drafting the policy, Mulyanto said.
RIRI RAHAYU
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