Sujadi’s Blog

So no more petrol top-ups in Johor Baru for Singaporean motorists. The Malaysian government finally decided enough is enough. With oil prices worldwide soaring, Abdullah Badawis administration could no longer allow foreigners to enjoy subsidized fuel, meant primarily for Malaysians. Yes, I admit, Im one of the hundreds of thousands of Singaporeans who has enjoyed the Malaysian governments generosity.

All this while I never thought I had deprived Malaysians of their share of subsidies whenever I topped up my fuel tank. To me, I was responding to market why pay more when you can pay less?

I continued enjoying subsidized fuel in Indonesia even more because Jakartas fuel price is one of the lowest in Asia. A litre of subsidized petrol costs only about SGD0.80 cents.

But bit by bit, reality began to bite. I no longer could look into the eyes of the Jakarta street beggars at traffic junctions as I counted  my loose change. I felt Ive deprived them of better lives; the street kids of proper education and the sick of better medical. I stopped buying subsidized fuel.

The Indonesian government has successfully convinced me that they are serious and sincere about channeling the fuel subsidies from the better-off vehicle owners to the 19 million poor households. I bought the argument put forward by my favorite Indonesian minister Sri Mulyani (Finance) for the fuel hike. Maybe this is because I’m biased, I personally like her. Maybe also because Im a Singaporean who has learnt to trust the government of the day.

But the Yudhoyono administration is having a tough time convincing its own citizens. Not that Indonesians do not understand the mathematics behind the fuel price increase. Its just that they are still learning to trust the government. You cant totally blame them. The scars of corruption, cronyism and nepotism - KKN in Indonesia - left by the Orde Baru regime have not healed. In fact KKN is still alive in this new democracy. So Indonesians have every reason to be skeptical about this whole exercise of reallocating fuel subsidies to the poor. Time and a more transparent government may one day win them over.

Ill be frank. Im new to blogging simply because the spare time that I have here in Jakarta I usually use for other activities. No need to go into details for now. You will find out in due course. So why am I doing it now? Hmm
good question. I was nudged by my friends at the office to share my experience and thoughts on Indonesia beyond what I produce in my daily news dispatches. So I agreed.

Thereve been daily protests and demonstrations across Indonesia the past few days following the Indonesian governments decision to raise fuel prices. Its expected. Anyway, demonstrations are common here after Reformasi part of democracy as some Indonesians believe. Ive covered many demonstrations since being posted here more than 3 years ago.But this time round the demonstrations are different.

I spent some time with 34 year-old Adian Napitupulu,  while producing the “Special on Reformasi- An Unfinished Agenda”. He was a student activist 10 years ago a militant one who clashed with security forces over a week in the streets of Jakarta. Now hes an urban legend among current student activists and ironically, a law grad. So they seek his advice on how to go about launching their protests against the governments move to raise fuel prices. I was there in his smoke-filled room on the night a month ago as Adian helped strategize for the young lads.

The last few days, I couldnt help but smile when I saw the students take to the streets and clash with riot police. It doesnt matter what the government has to say about the need to raise fuel prices. The students have long made up their minds. The current lot believe its their time to create history just like their predecessors did 10 years ago. I salute their activism and idealism. But someone may have forgotten to tell them that the times have changed. Yudhoyono is not Suharto. Maybe someone did tell them. But in Indonesia, youre not an undergrad unless you have gone out onto the streets fighting for a cause. Participating in demonstrations is part of their ECA.