REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Secretary General of the ruling Democrat Party (PD) Edhie Baskoro, rejected Pertamina's policy that raised the selling price of non-subsidized 12-kg cylinders of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by about 68 percent.
"Pertamina's decision to raise the selling price of 12 Kg LPG will definitely have an impact on inflation that adds to the people's burden," Edhie Baskoro said in his statement here on Sunday.
The state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina has hiked the selling price of non-subsidized 12-kg cylinders of liquefied petroleum gas by about 68 percent, or from Rp 70,200 to Rp 117,708 per canister, effective on Wednesday, the first day of the year.
The Democrat Party's secretary general in his written statement stressed that the party disagreed and rejected the selling price of non-subsidized 12-kg cylinders of LPG, especially with the increase of more than 60 percent that will cause inflation and burdens the people.
"The government has stabilized the inflation due to the fuel prices hike last year, so the surge in the price increase was not so great. In that circumstance, Pertamina should act properly by preventing the company to raise the LPG selling price," he added.
Thus, Democrat Party urged the government to take action in order that Pertamina conducts a review on the LGP price hike, he said.
Pertamina claimed the price-hike policy needed to be taken because the company had suffered annual losses amounting to Rp 6 trillion from the 12-kilogram LPG canister business.
On last Wednesday, deputy president of Pertamina`s Communications Affairs Ali Mundakir reported that his company had raised the LPG price in an effort to shore up Pertamina`s losses in the 12-kg cylinder gas business, which reached about Rp6 trillion in 2013.