REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The ruling Great Indonesian Coalition (KIH) said it threw its support for the government's policy of raising the prices of subsidized oil fuels (BBM) because it is necessary in the drive to carry out economic reform.
Secretary general of the forum of the ruling coalition Hasto Kristiyanto of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) said economic reform would be carried out through tax reform to increase the country's economic sovereignty.
It would start from revitalization of the state budget and development of infrastructure to boost the productive sectors, Hasto said here on Thursday.
Many have questioned the position of the ruling PDIP which has been known to be consistently opposing BBM price hike when it was in the opposition benches in the past 10 years under the previous government.
"No less important is improvement of efficiency in the upstream and downstream sectors of the oil sector. Therefore, we fully support the government's policy. We know this is not popular and the president is ready to be not popular in carrying out his responsibility for the people welfare," Hasto said in a news conference attended also by leaders of other KIH members.
He said the government carried a heavy economic burden with foreign debt increasing over the past 10 years partly because of the shorfall in tax revenues in the past three consecutive years.
Therefore, the cut in BBM subsidy to be appropriated for other productive sectors is the only choice to guarantee that people living below the poverty line could receive free health treatment and educational allowance and cash.
The program is to guarantee assistance for poor farmer and fishermen families to start productive activities directly and subsidized BBM will be maintained for public transport, he added.
He said BBM price hike is part of the policy to launch economic reform including development of infrastructure to support economic development.
Deputy secretary general of the National Democrat (Nasdem) party Willy Aditya said President Jokowi had made a bold decision that would hurt his popularity.
"It is politically an extraordinary step . It takes great courage to make such decision in the first days of his presidency , " Willy said.
The government provides compensations such as fertilizer subsidies for farmers and free medical treatment and education allowance,for poor families, therefore, the one to suffer more from the BBM price hikes are people of middle and high income as they have no compensation for the BBM price hike, KIH said.
"I hope middle class people would not complain too much," secretary general of the United Development Party (PPP) Aunur Rofiq said.
People of middle income should make the BBM price hike as a good lesson not to be wasteful, Aunus added.
Currently the government is focused on helping out 15.5 million poor families and has no assistance for middle income people, he said.
"We hope that middle class people would be willing to sacrifice for our low income country people," he said.
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