Subsidies In 2013 Must Be Reduced

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Indonesian Energy and Mineral Minister Jero Wacik has stated that subsidies should be reduced next year to ease the strain on the 2013 budget.

"It's not so easy to persuade citizens to exercise restraint. There are some middle-class and rich people who still use subsidized fuel even if the government has prohibited it," he said after attending President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's state of the nation address at the Parliament here on Thursday.

Jero urged the upper-middle-class and rich people to only buy Pertamax fuel, pointing out that subsidized fuel was for lower-middle-class citizens.

He said the government must increase the fuel prices and electricity rates in order to reduce the burden of subsidies on the 2013 state budget, adding that the hike could be implemented in stages so as to not burden the public.

"If the electricity rates were to be increased suddenly, the citizens would be burdened. Therefore, we are still calculating about 3-4 percent rise in each quarter," Jero explained.

Meanwhile, President Yudhoyono said the government was making serious efforts to control fuel costs amid soaring global oil prices.(IGT)