JAKARTA, Aug 12 — Indonesia is considering gradually implementing measures to make fuel subsidies more targeted while assessing their impact on the economy.
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said the government has been tasked with ensuring subsidies were better targeted, following discussions on the issue at the House of Representatives last year.
“The first thing that needs to be clarified is that prices will not increase as Bahlil (Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia) has said,” he said during a media conference in Jakarta today, according to a video made available by local media on YouTube.
Purbaya added that the government has examined the technology for the initiative, while state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina also conducted research on the matter, which he reviewed in Surabaya.
The measures will be gradually implemented to assess their impact on the economy, with Purbaya citing a possible restriction on purchases of Indonesia’s subsidised RON90 petrol Pertalite by those in the highest-expenditure group.
“We will do it gradually to see what the impact will be. If, for example, I stop those in decile 10 from buying Pertalite, what would be the impact on the economy? So we will proceed gradually,” he said.
Decile 10 refers to the top 10 per cent of households ranked by expenditure under Indonesia’s socioeconomic classification system.
