Fuel Subsides Must be Rvoked: Chamber

Jakarta - The Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Indonesia, Suryo Bambang Sulisto, has stated that the government should revoke subsidies for fuel and reallocate the funds to infrastructure development and education in provinces across the country. "More funds could then be reallocated to infrastructure development and education, among other things, in provinces across the nation," he said here on Wednesday. According to Suryo, energy subsidies burden the state budget and hamper economic growth. This year, energy subsidies have reached Rp274 trillion and their implementation costs may exceed Rp300 trillion. Therefore, the government should revoke the Rp150 trillion worth of fuel subsidies and reallocate more funds to development projects across Indonesia. "The additional funds that will be available after the revocation of subsidies can be used for the development of health, infrastructure and job sectors. However, the local governments must also submit their proposals on how they would like to use the additional funds," Suryo said. "Subsidies for regional development would be more beneficial than fuel subsidies," he pointed out. According to Suryo, 80 percent of subsidized fuel is used up by the rich, who are actually not entitled to such subsidies. "Therefore, if the fuel subsidies are revoked, there will be 50 percent increase in the prices of such fuels," he noted. (*)