Jonan Praises President Jokowi's One Oil Price Policy

JAKARTA, Oct 20 (Antara) - The new Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ignatius Jonan, has praised President Joko Widodo's (Jokowi's) decision to apply the one oil price policy to ensure that price of gasoline is same in Papua as in Java. "President Jokowi's one fuel oil price policy is a big achievement," he said when asked about it here on Wednesday. Jonan stated that the government has achieved success on many counts in the energy sector in the past two years but many programs were yet to be completed. "In the field of energy and mineral resources, from what I can tell you as I have been in the office for just one or two days, efforts have been undertaken to simplify the licensing procedures. Also, governance has been better. I think many programs are still underway," he added. The government of President Jokowi and Vice President Jusuf Kalla would mark its second anniversary on October 20. Ignatius Jonan, who was replaced by Budi Karya Sumadi as the Minister for Transportation in the second cabinet reshuffle, was named the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources by President Jokowi recently. During a visit to Yahukimo, Papua, on Tuesday, President Jokowi launched the one fuel price policy across the country, including in Papua and West Papua provinces where the price of gasoline was much higher than in Java. It reached up to Rp100,000 a liter, compared to only around Rp6,450 in Java. The policy is aimed at ensuring social justice for all Indonesians. "In Java, the price is only Rp6,450 per liter while for tens of years in Papua, it has been Rp50,000, Rp60,000 or even Rp100,000 per liter," the President explained at the launch event. In Java, a hike of just Rp1,000 makes people angry but in Papua or other eastern regions, people take it in their stride even when the price zooms many times higher than in other regions, he observed, adding he would not let such an anomaly to continue. "Here people had remained silent even when the price had reached Rp60,000 or Rp100,000 per liter for many years," he recalled. In view of that, the President has ordered the Minister of State Enterprises and the state-owned oil company PT Pertamina to immediately put in place the one price policy in Papua and West Papua. The move is expected to help Papua's economy move ahead on the path of growth.