"President Yudhoyono made the request at a limited cabinet meeting at Halim Perdanakusuma airport on Monday," Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa said after the meeting.
Hatta said the president asked the ministers to ensure the stability of basic commodity prices, and food availability across the country in the run up to and during the fasting month.
According to him, the head of state also said the distribution of rice for poor people should be timely and well targeted.
To ensure that food prices do not increase, the head of state also called for market operations in regions where food prices show a rising tendency.
Hatta said the president on the occasion also called on Energy Minister Darwin Zahedy Saleh to prepare efforts to save energy, including efficiency in the use of subsidized fuel oil.
"President Yudhoyono will soon issue a presidential decision on energy efficiency, and therefore we have to conduct the subsidized fuel savings movement by involving regional governments to maintain the quota," Hatta said.
He explained that the energy saving mechanism and procedures were currently being devised by the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and they would soon be submitted to the head of state to be formalized as a presidential decree.
"The technique will be explained by the energy and mineral resources minister. If in the past, we were achieve 7 to 10 percent efficiency in energy consumption, we can the same today," Hatta said.
According to him, the energy efficiency program would first be implemented by government institutions and later by the people.
(*)
Editor: AA Ariwibowo
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
