Tag: fuel subsidy

Jokowi primes the pump – The Edge Review

JAKARTA – Despite the threat of political opposition and public protests, Indonesian President Joko Widodo this week raised fuel prices in a move he said will free up revenue for infrastructure improvements and social spending. Aziz Pane, chairman of Indonesia’s Tyre Manufacturers Association, said that his group had been calling on successive governments to allocate more money to improving Indonesia’s infrastructure, which means cutting the fuel subsidy. “But they have all been afraid of the oil mafia,” he told The Edge Review.

Widodo reviewing fuel price hike plans – Nikkei Asian Review

JAKARTA — Joko Widodo will tread carefully in cutting Indonesia’s expensive fuel subsidies after his Oct. 20 inauguration as the country’s next president, according to a leading member of his transition team. “We will calculate in detail the political aspect and the social aspect before reallocating the subsidy,” Hasto Kristiyanto told the Nikkei Asian Review at his office in central Jakarta. “The decision to raise the fuel price has not been decided yet,” Kristyanto added on Friday afternoon, after fresh reports emerged saying Widodo would move quickly to raise fuel prices after taking office.