Fuel Prices Fuel Anything
It’s been a long time since I saw the last long-queues in gas stations.
Last night I took my Mio out to see the situations in gas stations in Bandung. I wasn’t managed to cover all stations, of course, but things were as predicted: long lines in every station. Some stations even were closed before 7pm because of their reserves have ran out or they just worried of any potential demonstrations or even riots.
Yap. The government’s announcement that the new increased fuel prices would be effective on 24 May drove people to rush to the stations. It is said that the new fuel prices are for household, transportation, small-scale business and fishery sectors. The government highlighted that those prices are necessary to follow skyrocketing world’s oil price.
Is that true?
Do we have to always follow the world’s oil price?
Faisal Basri said the increase is a must, but it has to be done gradually.
Interesting analysis came from Kwik Kian Gie, saying that fuel subsidy is a misleading term coined by the government. The most interesting part, at least for me, is when he questioned:in terms of fuel, is the government suffer a deficit because of the subsidy, or they just have excessive money to build infrastructure? Last night, or about 2.30am Bandung zone time, I found a link providing Gie’s presentation downloadable in pdf format for free here. But just now I noticed the link has been deleted by the blogger himself due to the increasing pros n cons that it might trigger. At least that’s what he said in his blog.
I’m not gonna talk about the debate. But the government announcement about these new prices remind me of two friends.
The first is a freshwoman in English Department of Indonesia University of Education. A couple of days ago, she texted me asking the meaning of plutocracy. In my reply, I gave a very short explanation with an emphasis that it is this kind of cracy that rule all nations have nowadays. 
The second person is a man who is about to graduate from the same department and same university. Last month he posted a smart shoutout in his Friendster profile: “Don’t steal from the people. Our government hate competition.” 
I guess Faisal Basri is right when saying the fuel price fuel many things, including fueled me to fool around witnessing hours of lines in gas stations.
Note: picture of Faisal Basri’s dialogue with Wimar Witoelar and Co-host Melissa Karim is taken from here, while Gie’s image is taken from there. The picture of long lines in gas station is taken from this blog. I actually wanted to take my own photo last night, but the battery of my digital camera didn’t have enough fuel to shoot in night mode. What an amateur I am!
