The House of
Representatives’ plenary session to discuss the government fuel price hike plan
was continually delayed on Friday as more politicians within the government
coalition called off their support for the plan.
The session started at 10 a.m., but ended up discussing only three out
of four agenda points that were supposed to be discussed and was adjourned to
re-start at 1:30 p.m.
The meeting only resumed at 2:30 p.m., and is still happening at the
time of writing. Parties took hours debating the fuel hikes planned for April
1, and were conducting internal meetings to discuss the issue.
At about the same time at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was holding a closed-door Cabinet meeting, the agenda
of which presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha refused to share with
journalists.
“The President, while performing his duties, is continually following
and monitoring the progress of the plenary session at the DPR [the House]
regarding the draft on the revision of the state budget,” Julian said.
The government’s plan to raise subsidized fuel prices has triggered
waves of protests nationwide, which seemed to reach their peak on Friday.
The government has now seemed to waiver, as one by one parties within
the coalition began expressing their disagreement with the plan, following the
massive nationwide protests that have turned violent in a number of areas,
including in Jakarta on Tuesday and Thursday.
Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie issued a statement on Thursday
saying “it is not yet time to increase fuel prices,” although on Friday the
head of the Golkar faction at the DPR, Setya Novanto, said Golkar had yet to
make a final decision.
“We’re handing over this fuel hike problem to the government because it
is the domain of the government, not DPR’s,” Setya said on Friday morning.
In the same day, upon an internal party meeting, the United Development
Party (PPP) faction at the House said the fuel hike plan needed to be delayed.
“PPP considers that the public are not ready yet, socially and
psychologically, to adjust to the planned fuel hikes,” PPP faction head Hasrul
Azwar said.
A majority of politicians with the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS)
faction at the House have also expressed their disagreement with the plan.
“Reject [fuel hikes]! Reject it,” chanted a number of PKS politicians
during the party’s internal meeting at DPR, attended by 48 PKS lawmakers.
BeritaSatu
The Jakarta Globe
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programmes. Many thanks for visiting www.yourvietnamexpert.com and/or contacting us at contact@yourvietnamexpert.com
No comments:
Post a Comment