Indonesian government releases new fuel strategy
Indonesia has huge oil and gas reserves buy still ends up importing fuel. One may wonder why this is and the reasons are complex, inefficiency and the huge local demand are probably the 2 biggest factors. Fuel here in Indonesia is heavily subsidized, that's why several thousand rupiah will fill a scooter's tank. Unfortunately the subsidies hurt the economy when global oil prices rise. Most Indonesians I talk to seem mostly interested in the news as far as it affects them. During the last elections I asked Balinese locals who they would vote for and many said it didn't matter, all the candidates amounted to the same thing and as long as fuel and rice stayed cheap they were happy.
Raising the cost of fuel, even though it makes sense on a macro level will have immediate micro effects. Many Indonesians simply don't have much of a profit margin, in many cases its survival business. Tofu makers needs large amounts of kerosene to cook their product, other businesses need fuel for trucks and boats (Indonesia being an archipelago). A rise across the board can be seen as an attack by the government and in the past have been met with demonstrations and violence.
The new plan is to raise prices except in 5 protected area which are: Small households, small and medium enterprises, public transportation owners, special transportation operators such as ambulance services and fire departments, and special purposes.
President Susilo seems levelheaded and I hope people give his plans a chance to work.
By Nick | Permalink
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I have read that two of the suggested measures to reduce fuel use are as follows:
1. Reduce the dependency on aircon in offices by expecting the male workers to dress sensibly for the tropics, instead of aping the men of Britain and other cool climates in their restrictive suits and ties. [This should be done in Australia too.]
2. Cut down on late night power use by expecting night clubs etc to close by 1AM.
The first suggestion is so obvious that it shouldn’t even need mentioning.
The second suggestion could be seen as more controversial, but it could be gradually implemented, with the closing time coming back by an hour a month over a 5 month period. I realise this would be resisted by the night club operators, but if a well known establishment, after repeated requests, was closed down for a week for breaching the requirements, the others would get the message.
I am a civil libertarian by nature and don’t like being regulated by government, but the present situation is difficult and may soon become critical if nothing is done.
Many hotels use a huge amount of unnecessary resources. Do any of us change our bed sheets every day at home? Well, what’s the point of doing that for hotel guests? Some hotels ask guests to act environmentally by hanging up their towels to dry if they don’t want them laundering every day. So we do that and what happens? They’re taken away for laundering anyway.
And how about the guests who go off for the day and leave the aircon on whilst they’re not there. I suppose the attitude is that it doesn’t matter, because we’re paying for it anyway. But the cost is too high and not just in money.
We all want Bali to stay affordable and environmentally viable. And we all want Indonesia to be politically stable and become more prosperous, with the people in general gradually getting access to the various social benefits which many of us take for granted.
I think that the Indonesian President sees it this way too and deserves support.