By: Rivaldi Adrian )*
Direct Fuel Oil Cash Assistance (BLT BBM) is given to the Indonesian people in need, as compensation for the gasoline price adjustment. BLT is very useful to protect the people from global turmoil.
Fuel prices are adjusted by the government, namely the type of Pertamax and Solar. However, the public does not need to worry because the government has shifted the subsidy into BLT (direct cash assistance) which will be given starting September 2022. The nominal value of the BLT is Rp. 600,000 awarded in 2 periods. A total of more than 20 million people are entitled to BLT BBM, which is distributed through the Post Office.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani stated that BLT BBM would relieve and protect the vulnerable and poor from the pressures of global price fluctuations. Hopefully the poverty of the Indonesian people will also decrease.
In a sense, during a global pandemic, prices fluctuated, coupled with changes in world crude oil prices. Prices of basic goods such as basic necessities have increased worldwide. If it continues like this, it is dangerous because people’s purchasing power decreases and can increase the poverty rate.
Therefore, the government provides BLT BBM as assistance to small people. They were able to survive the global economic turmoil because they received aid money in the form of BLT BBM. With the funds from the government, the small people are still able to buy good quality rice and other basic necessities.
Global economic turmoil is dangerous because it can cause the market to become quiet, and the wheels of the Indonesian economy to move very slowly. Therefore, the government normalizes the market with a stimulus from BLT BBM. People still have spending money so the market will return to normal. As a result, the wheels of the economy run smoothly again.
The wheels of the economy must be protected from global economic turmoil, because if the Indonesian economy is slow, even dead, it is very dangerous. This can lead to chaos and economic recession. Therefore, BLT BBM is highly appreciated because it is a smart step from the government to normalize the market in this country.
To control the poverty rate in Indonesia, it is necessary to induce the BLT BBM. Don’t let anyone criticize the government of President Jokowi for giving out social assistance too often. The reason is because the community is still in need and many are living in misery during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Emrus Sihombing, Political Economy Expert from Pelita Harapan University, stated that the BLT BBM policy was a social cushion, and showed that President Jokowi’s government sided with people with weak economies. The BLT BBM policy also controls people’s purchasing power.
In a sense, President Jokowi’s government is still pro-poor and it is proven that even though the fuel subsidy is reduced, it has been shifted to BLT. The transfer was made to make the subsidy more effective. It is the poorest people who suffer the most from the negative impact of fuel price adjustments, therefore they deserve to get BLT from the government.
Small people are also the group most affected by the global economic turmoil, where their wages are barely enough to eat and pay electricity and water bills. There are even people whose salaries are far below the regional minimum wage. Therefore, the government is trying to erase the negative impact of global turmoil by providing BLT BBM.
Do not let the global economic turmoil destroy all Indonesian people, let alone the threat of a global recession in 2023. Therefore, the government is trying hard to keep the people’s economy stable with a stimulus in the form of BLT BBM. Hopefully the people are helped with Rp. 600,000, and they will have no trouble just buying rice and chicken eggs.
If 20 million small people receive BLT BBM, the market will be stable because even small people can buy basic necessities at normal prices, because they don’t spend their personal money. However, they use the BLT BBM funds, which are very beneficial for the stability of supply in the kitchen. Small people can still eat even though the global economy is not very stable.
Therefore, the provision of BLT BBM is appreciated by many people, especially the small people. They feel cared for by the government, which does not want its people to suffer further during the pandemic and the unstable global economy. The provision of BLT is also appropriate because the subsidy is directly given to the poor, because if it is only an ordinary subsidy, it can even be eaten by rich people who are not entitled to it.
BLT BBM is a protective cushion from global economic turmoil that has not been too stable, due to the dynamics of world crude oil prices. During a pandemic, the people’s economic condition must be well maintained, so that they do not suffer from serious illness and starvation. Therefore, the government provides BLT BBM so that the people can be protected from the effects of unstable global turmoil.
)* The author is a contributor to the Nusantara Reading Room
