The Gas Price is Down

Just now at approx. 5.15 PM, I watched MetroTV Breaking News, one of the national TV in Indonesia, and it showed the conversation of Eva Julianti, the news anchor, with Andi Malarangeng, the president's public speaker. The conversation was about the meeting held and attended by President Yudhoyono and also led by Sri Mulyani, the Minister of Finance besides the Coordinator Minister of Economics.

In that meeting, Sri Mulyani said that the Premium gas price is set down to Rp 5,500.00 from Rp 6,000.00. She said that the decrease in Premium price was considering the decrease in international oil price which was resulted from the global economic crisis. The reporters of MetroTV, that present on the meeting, said that only premium-type gas price reduced because government considered the association's and most of party's suggestion.

She also said that government will review this policy of price decreasing every month in response to the international oil price. If there is a change in global gas price, government will acts toward it while considering the currency and Indonesia's usage volume of gas.

It was noticed that Indonesia's gas price is one of the lowest price in the Asia. This might trigger illegal acts which the perpetrators will sell Indonesia's gas to the other countries. So from the illegal acts point of view, Sri Mulyani said that government will enforce the law to stop the perpetrators' acts. Moreover, she said that the value of the transfer is too low or even none that makes it seems impossible to commit.

Concluded, government has decrease the gas price as the reaction from the decrease in global oil price from Rp 6,000.00 to Rp 5,500.00. But I think the effect might take times and there will be lag time of implementing the policy. And in my opinion consumer goods price, which already going up for the last months, might not go down easily especially only the premium gas price reduced. But after all I hope government will maintain the economics well while enforcing the law, besides paying attention only to the governor elections.