President To Make Fuel Price Hike Announcement

Jakarta, Nov 11 (Antara) - The fuel price hike announcement would be personally made by President Joko Widodo stated Energy Minister Sudirman Said here on Tuesday. "So, we have to wait for the president`s arrival back home," he noted while visiting the office of the director general of oil and gas. President Joko Widodo is currently in China to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, and thereafter, he will fly to Myanmar for the ASEAN summit and later to Australia for the G20 summit. He is scheduled to return home on November 16. President Joko Widodo has decided to shift the fuel subsidy to other sectors that are considered more productive such as education, health, and infrastructure, as a result of which the price of subsidized fuel oils will increase. No decision, however, has been made with regard to when the price of subsidized oils would be hiked. Vice President Jusuf Kalla confirmed that the price hike would come into effect this month. In this regard, Sudirman urged consumers to abstain from hoarding fuel oils to be stored for re-selling later when the price is hiked. He also called on the people to not panic as the state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina has ensured adequate supply. The minister emphasized that he will continue to coordinate with Pertamina in preparation of the price hike. He stated that the government would not place a limit on the purchase of subsidized oils, adding that Pertamina has guaranteed sufficient stocks of subsidized gasoline and diesel fuel for the next 16 to 18 days.