"We support the government to raise fuel oil prices," HIPMI Chairman Erwin Aksa said after a meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the Presidential Office here on Monday.
He said that he had directly conveyed the HIPMI proposal for increasing fuel oil prices in a one-hour meeting with the president on Monday.
Erwin said that the president would study the proposal and would take a decision that took into account the present conditions including the fluctuations of the world crude prices.
The HIPI chairman said that fuel oil subsidies very much burdened the state budget. A big amount of subsidy would reduce budget for capital expenditure. A small capital expenditure would hamper the development of infrastructure.
He said that the proposal was based on the fact that there were still many rich people who purchased subsidized fuel oils.
"We are concerned to see that there are four-wheel vehicles whose prices are hundreds of millions of rupiah but still use subsidized premium gasoline," he said.
But he said that he did not propose any rate for the increase in the fuel oil prices. According to him, the president already has officials who will deepen the matter.
"They have a very accurate study," he added.
(Uu.A014/HAJM)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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