Pertamina's Efforts To Face Pertalite Cases In East Java Are A Form Of Positive Accountability

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) assesses that various efforts made by Pertamina to deal with the rise of "brebet" motorbikes after filling pertalite fuel oil (BBM) in East Java (East Java) are positive and should be done.

"Of course positive. And this must be done as a form of accountability for investigations in the field," said YLKI General Chair Niti Emiliana in Jakarta, Saturday.

Various positive efforts by Pertamina, he continued, include conducting laboratory tests on pertalite products, especially those from Tuban Fuel Terminal and Surabaya Fuel Terminal, which allegedly caused complaints from consumers.

In addition, Pertamina's efforts were to open 17 complaint posts placed around gas stations suspected of having problems.

However, he said he hoped that Pertamina would be transparent to consumers regarding the results of the laboratory test to be open and informed to the public.

"Consumers who actually suffered losses in this incident must also receive compensation for the impact," he said, by telephone.

To prevent recurring events in the future, Niti emphasized the importance of monitoring that must be carried out regularly in the form of prevention, not only looking for evidence when problems occur.

According to him, which is no less important, Pertamina must take firm action against gas stations if they are proven to have committed violations and overall improvements to improve the quality and trust of consumers.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Indonesian Ombudsman Representative for East Java, Agus Muttaqin, considered that Pertamina's initiative to open 17 complaint posts for motorcycle owners was damaged after filling in pertalite.

The opening of the post is the implementation of Presidential Decree Number 76 of 2013 concerning the Public Service Complaint System.

"It's true, a comparison handling team will soon be formed. This can reduce as well as quickly deal with problems in the community," he said in his statement.

Even so, he reminded, Pertamina must really compensate unconditional losses in handling pertalite consumer complaints.

"Pertamina must be responsible for using the stock-liability principle, by compensating consumer material losses," he said.

As for the investigation, he said the Indonesian Ombudsman in East Java also urged the establishment of an independent team, consisting of institutions that have the authority in accordance with the laws and regulations, as well as academics who have competence/experts in the energy sector to investigate the case.

Previously, Pertamina had taken quick steps to address the rise of "brebet" motorbikes after filling out Pertalite at several gas stations in East Java, including conducting laboratory tests, opening complaint posts, and conducting investigations related to the case.

In addition, Pertamina also ensures that the distribution of fuel products continues to run smoothly so that the fulfillment of community energy needs is not disrupted.