NU sends letter to president SBY

Malang, NU Online
General Chairman of the Central Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) would send a letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) asking the government's plan to soon raise fuel oil prices on Monday (19/5).

General Chairman of the PBNU KH Hasyim Muzadi said that he had personally talked to President SBY dealing with his objections on the government's plan.<>

"I personally have given feedbacks (to Pesident SBY)," said Hasyim in his Al Hikam Islamic boarding school (Pesantren) in Malang on Sunday, adding that he had also announced his objections dealing with the government's plan in mass media.

According to Hasyim the government should first of all delay its plan by seeking efficient solutions and examine which items of the state budget that may be cut to cover it.

While People`s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Chief Hidayat Nur Wahid has also expressed hope the government would drop its plan to raise fuel prices, saying it should listen to the people`s aspirations and consider their difficulties if the plan is realized.

"I hope the fuel price hike plan would not be realized. I want the government to listen to the aspirations of the people who have protested against the plan," he said after addressing a national seminar "Wake up My Country The Hope Is Still There" organized by the Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) in Jakarta on Sunday.

The government still had many other ways to save the state budget without having to raise fuel prices, he said.

He underscored the need to implement a budget retrenchment program at each ministry or state agency and protect tax receipts against leakage.

"Information from the Directorate General of Taxation in the previous period suggests that around Rp300 trillion in tax receipts leaked. Imagine if half of the tax leakage can be retrieved the government would have no need to raise fuel prices," he was quoted by Antara news agency as saying.

The government also still had a chance to raise state receipts from customs and excise tax, he said.

In addition, it also could lobby oil exporting countries grouped in the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) such as Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia for low prices of crude oil it would import from those countries, he said.

The government plans to raise fuel prices late in May or early in June to ease pressure on the state budget from the upward trend in global crude prices. The price of premium gasoline will be raised from Rp4,500 to Rp6,000 per liter, diesel oil from Rp4,300 to Rp5,500 per liter and kerosene from Rp2,000 to Rp2,300 per liter.

However, the planned fuel price hikes have sparked widespread rallies in a number of major cities such as Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Pekanbaru, Surabaya, Banjarmasin and Makassar. (dar)