Hi folks,
As of last weekend, Muslims around the world have been observing the holy month of Ramadan but those in Indonesia would have to do that amidst rising gas prices (thanks geopolitics) and pretty much everything else, since prices of cooking oil went up last month followed by a rise in cost of fuel as well as VAT, and therefore everything else. Except maybe salaries.
Prices Go Up
The government decided to hike the prices of nearly all types of fuel sold by state-owned company Pertamina by as much as 44% on April Fool’s Day (Who’s the fool now?). The only type of fuel that the company didn’t raise is the subsidized Pertalite, which stayed at its retail price of Rp 7,650 per liter (at least that’s the official price in Java).
The hike has to do with the global prices of crude oil, which has steadily increased since late last year due to what is going on between Ukraine and its neighbor Russia. Although the price enjoyed occasional dip due to peace talks and pledges to boost production or release reserves by some oil producing countries, the market is still pretty much volatile.
Pertamina is not the only fuel retailer to jack up prices. Shell, for example, raised its RON 92 fuel “Super” from Rp12,500 to Rp 16,000. That’s Rp 3,500 pricier than its Pertamina equivalent “Pertamax”. Why is Pertamina’s price lower? Well.. Pertamina is still selling its fuel at a loss, which is projected to cost the SOE around Rp18 trillion.
The hike is causing people to switch to the heavily subsidized Pertalite. So much so that several areas were reporting a Pertalite scarcity. These Pertalite hunters better hurry tho, because the minister of all ministers, Lord Luhut, announced that prices for Pertalite and other subsidized fuel might also go up incrementally this year.
Raising fuel prices is always a touchy subject in Indonesia because not only is commuting becoming more expensive but so are production costs and the transportation of goods.
Back in 2013 when fuel prices went up during SBY’s administration, the current ruling party, PDIP threatened to send 15,000 people to rally outside the Merdeka Palace. And party leader Megawati cried as she spoke about people not being able to afford basic needs. This time? She held a cooking class for making food without oil.
Making matters worse… or as we say in Indonesia “get hit by the ladder one falls from”... is that the government decided to raise the value added tax (VAT) from 10% to 11% also on April Fool’s Day. They’re really pranking us aren’t they?
This begs for the joke that’s going around WhatsApp groups:
One afternoon at a gas station, a delivery truck driver was complaining about the long lines.
Driver: You got Pertalite?
Attendant: All gone, sir, more on the way
D: On the way with what?
A: The fuel truck, of course
D: Why isn’t it here yet?
A: It’s waiting to fill up with diesel
D: And where’s the diesel attendant?
A: Oh, he’s probably gone to eat at a warung
D: Why so long, where’s the warung vendor?
A: Probably lining up to get the cooking oil
D: And the cooking oil seller is …
A: Waiting for the delivery truck which is lining up for Pertalite
We Will Rock You
Unless you’re living under a Rock, you pretty much know what went down at this year’s Academy Awards. But who Will get the last laugh? At this stage, no one.
The netizens certainly ain’t laughing. They are split between Team Will and Team Chris. Team Will said the slap was called for, saying that Chris Rock went too far joking about Smith’s wife Jada Pickett Smith’s hairstyle. Jada has an autoimmune disease alopecia which causes sudden and uncontrollable hair loss. Others say they would do the same if their wives were insulted like that. Although in Will’s case, he was laughing at the jokes until he realized his wife was not.
Team Chris, on the other hand, thinks that violence is never the answer. Will’s action had marred his achievement as an actor with a good boy image and ruined what should have been a night of celebration, including for Will, who went home with an Oscar that night for best actor.
Chris, who BTW was Jada’s co-star in the Madagascar animated franchise, said he didn’t know that Jada had alopecia and if he did, he wouldn’t make a joke about it. He had been making fun of her since the 90s and had a long running working relationship until his last joke at her expense at the Oscars in 2016 soured his relationship with the Smiths.
The Los Angeles police seems to be on Chris’s side, offering to arrest Smith after the incident but the Oscar presenter declined to press any charges. The Academy also tried to ask Will Smith to leave but he refused. The Academy is also launching a disciplinary hearing against him who subsequently decided to resign as a member and said he will accept whatever the consequences may be.
At this point, the scale may be tipping towards Chris instead of Will. Tickets for Chris’s first show since the slap skyrocketed and several Hollywood A-Listers have come to his defense. As for Will… he’s pretty much canceled, at least for the time being. Netflix is shelving the movie Fast and Loose, potentially looking for a new lead actor. Apple is postponing the release date of Will’s drama which is deep in post production for release on Apple TV+, while the execs at Sony are having second thoughts about Bad Boys 4.
Village Chiefs Support Jokowi’s Third Term. Or do They?
"Jokowi Three Terms" shouted some participants of the Indonesian Village Government Association (APDESI) national convention on March 29, attended by President Jokowi and his main man Luhut, who happened to serve as chairman of APDESI's board of advisors.
Although Luhut sits as its chief advisor, Apdesi's chairman Surta Wijaya denied that the call was staged or influenced by the government labeling the shouting spontaneous and from the heart.
Surta said that his organization plans to stage a formal declaration supporting Jokowi should he run for a third term as president.
But APDESI members tell a different story with various chapters telling the media that they will not support such a declaration and that the motion was the personal view of Surta and not the organization.
Here’s where it gets weirder. As far as the Ministry for Justice and Human Rights is concerned, the legitimate chairman of APDESI is not Surta but another guy named Arifin Abdul Majid. Arifin said Surta had unlawfully taken control of APDESI.
Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian, also present at the convention, said the government never discussed with APDESI about the third term idea. He added that the call was perhaps because village chiefs “feel happy during Jokowi's term".
As to why the President and his Ministers attended a national convention led by a chairman who is not formally recognized by the Justice Ministry, the Home Affairs Ministry claimed that both camps are legitimate.
Kompas has an in depth article of why the whole convention was a bit off from the get go.
Jokowi said he had often heard such calls and urged everyone to obey the Constitution which bars a president from holding office for more than two terms (unless the DPR decides to change it, in which case, look out).
But it looks like he had been hearing from the wrong crowd. Research company SMRC said 73% of those surveyed in its latest poll are in favor of keeping the two term limit and that the three term idea is only supported by 5% of those surveyed.
Quick Reads
PeduliLindungi to be Replaced
While the app was finally updated to enable contact tracing through bluetooth exchange last month (TWO YEARS!), the prospect of Covid-19 going endemic is pushing the Health Ministry to consider upgrading or replacing it with a more comprehensive app that monitors and maintains records of personal health. For now, they’re going with the name CitizenHealth. That should at least help end the PenguiniLinguini jokes.
SHIELD is Based in Semarang?
Semarang’s municipal government launched an urban planning center called SHIELD which stands for Spatial Holistic Integrated Environment and Land Division. The references to the popular Marvel TV show Agents of SHIELD weren’t lost on thousands of Indonesian netizens who spotted the blatantly copied logo and name and started tagging Disney and Marvel on social media.
Mayor Hendrar Prihadi and the city’s urban planning office claimed that it’s fine because it’s not for commercial purposes. Obviously failing to understand intellectual property rights. After a weekend of social media bombardment and public pressure, they deleted all the social media posts about the launch.
No More Speeding on Toll Roads
Speed cameras are now in place on a number of toll roads in Java and Sumatra to allow the Police to issue speeding fines. The speed limits have actually been set out in the law for decades but without speed cameras there was no way to enforce them. Until this month. Inner city toll roads are capped at 80kph while inter city tolls are capped at 100kph and anyone caught driving at 120kph will definitely get a mail.