Jokowi Must Be Strong Enough To Cancel Fuel Price Hike

Jakarta, Nov 17 (Antara) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) must have the guts and confidence to revoke his plan to increase subsidized fuel prices, noted a sociologist. "It is better for him to find breakthroughs in improving the standard of living of the people belonging to the lower class in Indonesia without hiking the prices of subsidized fuels," Nia Elvina of the National University (Unas) stated here on Sunday. Commenting on the government`s plan to increase the subsidized fuel oil prices, Nia acknowledged that President Jokowi is now facing a national leadership test. Nia remarked that if Jokowi is keen to win the people`s trust and match up to their expectations, then he should be able to make the tough call to cancel his plan to raise fuel oil prices and find other breakthroughs. She pointed out that the price should not always be hiked as the lower class population has to bear its brunt. Instead, the government should focus on handling and reviewing its energy policy, which is prone to corruption, nepotism, and collusion. It is also important how the government handles the development of alternative sources of energy. "I think the root of the problem is in the policy, not merely in the availability of our energy sources. Now, is the correct momentum for the new government of Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla to prove that it is taking the side of the people," she remarked. Therefore, Nia emphasized that the government should review its policy to increase subsidized fuel oil prices. "This is because the impact of rising prices on the people from the lower class bracket will worsen their lives. In other words, it will trap them further in poverty conditions," she noted. The sociologist urged the government to look at the currently developing realities where the inflation rate, based on the estimates of economists, will increase to an extraordinary level.