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JAKARTA - Antonius was irate when he saw a sign posted at a gasoline station here, telling the public that there was no more gasoline. He quickly drove his Daihatsu Taruna to another gasoline station in West Jakarta, and to his relief, they still had fuel there. "But, due to the long line of vehicles, I still had to queue for nearly half an hour to get the fuel," he told The Jakarta Post.
Antonius is one among many Jakarta residents feeling the bite of the fuel shortage. Residents were panicky on Monday as the fuel shortage has been going on since Saturday, but to date, it is still uncertain how long it will last.
As public resentment ran high, the embattled city government assured the public that the fuel supply would return to normal by Friday. "Please, don't panic," said assistant to the Jakarta secretary for the economy, Makmun Amin, while quoting a statement from officials of the state oil and gas company PT Pertamina.
The fuel shortage hit the capital as Pertamina reduced the premium gasoline supply last weekend as part of efforts to test the waters before it went ahead with a plan to reduce premium gasoline supply by between 5 percent and 10 percent of the current supply of 62.5 million kiloliters. The trial was carried out on Saturday in Jakarta and Surabaya. The government plans to proceed with the cut in the supply only if public protests are manageable.
In the long run, the supply reduction is aimed at returning fuel consumption nationwide to be on a par with the quota for domestic oil consumption set by the government this year at 59.6 million kiloliters. While fuel shortages have hit the capital and Surabaya since Saturday, other regions had already felt the bite of the fuel shortage a few weeks ago. The fuel shortage in the regions was attributed to fuel smuggling and hoarding. The fuel shortage has led to long queues at gasoline stations. The shortage has also caused the price of fuel to increase, adding to people's misery.
In Kupang city, East Nusa Tenggara province, motorists had formed long queues at several fuel stations in the city since Monday morning, but they left in disappointment as the stations were still closed until noon on Monday. Only police personnel were seen in the vicinity while gasoline station employees were absent. The fuel shortage has caused the price of fuel to rise twofold from Rp 2,500 to Rp 5,000 in Namosaian subdistrict in the city.
In Jambi province, diesel fuel has been unavailable for the past few days. The long queues in front of gasoline stations across the city caused traffic jams. The Jakarta Post has learned that the fuel shortage occurred as the fuel stations opted to sell the fuel to industries rather than the public as the industries were willing to pay more. The practice is prohibited but it still occurs.
In the South Sumatra city of Palembang, panicky residents flocked in droves to gasoline stations and try to buy fuel in large amounts. Fearing the fuel may run out, the residents filled the tanks of their cars and motorcycles.
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No fuel? Don't panic, says SBY
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As the gasoline shortage worsened across the country on Wednesday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told people not to panic, saying the government was gradually increasing the country's supplies, which would be back to normal soon. Susilo said the government was also drafting regulations on energy saving and plans for alternative power generation.
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