Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - Police and union leaders said they expected thousands of people to join demonstrations across Indonesia o...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - Police and union leaders said they expected thousands of people to join demonstrations across Indonesia on Tuesday, as anger grows over the government's decision to raise the price of subsidised fuel in Southeast Asia's largest economy.
President Joko Widodo said on Saturday that the price of fuel that is paid for by the government will go up by about 30%. This comes after weeks of rumours about a price increase.
In a statement released late Monday, Said Iqbal, the head of the Indonesian Trade Union Federation, said that up to 5,000 people would protest in Jakarta and thousands more would do so elsewhere. They want the government to reverse a decision that has hurt workers, farmers, fishermen, and poor people in cities the most.
Students and workers were angry about the decision, which came at a time when food prices were going up and the economy was still recovering from the effects of the pandemic. They held small protests over the weekend and again on Monday, where they burned tyres and blocked some roads.
Endra Zulpan, a spokesperson for the Jakarta police, said on Tuesday that almost 7,000 officers had been sent to and around the capital in preparation for protests on Tuesday.
On Monday, the head of the national police told regional police chiefs to keep the public calm by doing more to explain why the price of gas had to go up.
Subsidized fuel is a political hot potato in Indonesia, but the government has worked hard to soften the blow by putting in place a number of compensation measures, such as direct cash transfers.
Saturday, the president said that raising gas prices, which hasn't happened since 2014, was his last option because the budget was getting tight.
A deputy finance minister said on Monday that the move would cut subsidies by about 48 trillion rupiah ($3.22 billion) this year, bringing the total amount spent on subsidies to 650 trillion rupiah. However, inflation would rise as a result.
