Commentary: Indonesia will struggle to stay the course on hiking fuel prices

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The Indonesian government argues that there is a strong case for lifting fuel subsidies – but it will be a tall order amid rising inflation, says a researcher.

by 30 per cent. The government has justified the increases as a method to reduce the strain on the country’s coffers, which have been caused by ballooning subsidies that keep petrol prices lower.

Besides revising the prices for Pertalite and Solar, Pertamina – the national oil firm – also announced the increase of unsubsidised Pertamax, the highest petrol grade, from 12,000 rupiah a litre to 14,500 rupiah.The government’s rationale for lifting fuel subsidies is strong. Petrol prices in Indonesia have not risen since 2014 while international prices have risen dramatically in 2022.

They are largely spearheaded, as usual, by students, although this time there have also been angry demonstrations by drivers working through platform application services firms such as GoCar and Grab. These drivers, while perhaps having more hours of work than prior to the use of apps, must share their income with the firms and also pay for petrol and repairs themselves.

The larger Demokrat Party, now headed by Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono , has also called on its cadres to join protests. There are no signs yet of any cracks in support of the policy from within the governing coalition. The Gebrak alliance, which includes other smaller unions as well as student and human rights groups, has been a significant actor in civil society protests against government policies such as theOn Sep 13, they called for, among other things, the cancellation of the fuel price increases, the repeal of the Omnibus Law and rejected the revisions proposed to the new Criminal Code.

 

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