Jokowi Has to Stamp Out Mafia In Energy Sector : Academician

Yogyakarta (Antara Bali) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has to uphold the country's energy sovereignty  by cracking down on Mafia in the oil and gas and mining sectors, a leading academician said.

"Jokowi needs to prove that he could do it to win the public support," T Handono Eko Prabowo from the economic faculty of the Sanata Dharma University said here on Friday.

In addition Jokowi needs to develop alternative sources of energy  such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to reduce dependence on oil fuels (BBM), Handono said.

He expressed concern that the plan to raise the prices of subsidized BBM would weaken the purchasing power of the people of middle to lower classes.

"The rise in BBM price would have wide impact . Increases in the prices of essential commodities could not be controlled," he said in a seminar organized by the university.

There was no guarantee that compensation for the price hike  would succeed in improving the welfare of the people, he said.

Johanes Eka Priyatma, the rector of the university, said world oil price fluctuation placed the government a dilemma .

Raising the BBM prices would trigger increases in the prices of other goods resulting in higher cost of living of all people including poor families, he said.

"This is a challenge for the government of Jokowi and Jusuf Kalla in developing the country's economy  and in coping with the existing problems," he said. (WDY)