By: Rahmat Siregar)*
Subsidized fuel oil (BBM) should only be intended for people who can’t afford it. This effort is in order to maintain stability and also prioritize the principle of justice because so far in practice in the field, the rich have actually enjoyed the subsidy.
Indeed, subsidies are a form of assistance provided by the government or the state for people who are indeed less well off. This is in accordance with the principle of justice, because the subsidy policy should not be enjoyed by the rich, so that there is no equal distribution.
Therefore, the Coordinating Minister for Investment and Maritime Affairs, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, stated that the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, would announce a policy of increasing the price of subsidized fuel for the types of pertalite and diesel.
Luhut said the government was still weighing the pros and cons of the policy to increase fuel prices. According to him, so far the fuel subsidy has not been on the track, so the subsidy budget from the 2022 State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) is slowly inflating.
According to the Coordinating Minister for Marves, President Jokowi has ordered ministers to provide social cushions to maintain the purchasing power of the underprivileged if the government adopts a policy of increasing fuel prices. The government is unlikely to continue to maintain and increase subsidies.
For example, the government has allocated a fuel subsidy and compensation budget of Rp 502 trillion to PT PN and PT Pertamina this year. In addition, the government has allocated an energy subsidy budget of IDR 210.7 trillion in the 2023 RAPBN. This low energy subsidy budget allocation means that the state can allocate less of the subsidy amount or increase its price.
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Arifin Tasrif emphasized that his party is trying to meet the public’s need for subsidized fuel. He said the government did not want subsidized fuel to be enjoyed by the rich. So the government is now trying to limit the purchase of subsidized fuel, especially Pertalite. Currently, his party is discussing the possibility of limiting the purchase of additional fuel according to the type of vehicle.
Minister Arifin emphasized that the government’s plan to limit the purchase of subsidized Pertalite and Solar is only a matter of time. Currently, his party is still conducting a study to distribute subsidized fuel on target. This is because it requires the use and collection of accurate and solid data. It is hoped that the revision of Perpres 191/2014 can be completed as soon as possible so that it can prevent leakage and can guarantee that subsidized fuel can only be accepted by those entitled to receive the subsidy.
On another occasion, the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo himself had opened his voice regarding the increase in fuel prices. He stated that there would be at least three schemes to deal with this. First, it is still being discussed by the Government whether the restriction is based on the cubic centimeter (cc) criteria.
Then the second scheme is whether there are restrictions on who has the right to buy Pertalite, such as only public cars and two wheels or motorbikes. Furthermore, for the third scheme, specifically for the poor, based on data, subsidies will be provided through PKH or Direct Cash Assistance (BLT) to Social Assistance (Bansos) for basic necessities.
Furthermore, he admitted that the schemes are not final yet, but there are several other alternative schemes that are also important to consider. Even so, the government firmly will make restrictions so that the use of subsidized fuel is more targeted.
The seventh Indonesian president explained that subsidies must be truly targeted and not like the current implementation of Pertalite because in fact in the field there are still many luxury cars that fill fuel using Pertalite, even though it shouldn’t be like that.
So far, the Government itself is still calculating what kind of fuel subsidy system will be built so that it can be truly targeted and not enjoyed by the rich. In an effort to support the policy of subsidies and restrictions on the use of Pertalite and Solar, currently PT Pertamina (Persero) itself requires four-wheeled vehicles or cars to register vehicles on the MyPertamina application.
The reason is that by registering, vehicles that are entitled to use Pertalite and subsidized Solar will be classified based on the applicable rules, namely through the revision of Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 191/2014 concerning Supply, Distribution and Retail Selling Price of Fuel Oil (BBM).
Subsidized BBM is fuel that is subsidized by the government using APBN funds, has a limited amount according to the quota, the price is determined by the government