Compensation To Pertamina Forms The State's Presence In The Fuel Sector

Photo Illustration ANTARA

JAKARTA - Executive Director of the Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) Indonesia, Mohammad Faisal, said that the compensation for subsidized fuel and LPG from the government to PT Pertamina (Persero) is the state's presence to the people.

According to him, compensation can strengthen Pertamina's cash flow so that it can continue to contribute to the national economy, so that fuel and LPG subsidies can continue to be given by the government to maintain people's purchasing power.

"The fuel compensation is in the form of government intervention. Pertamina's cash flow is stronger, so subsidized fuel and LPG can continue to be given which is expected to make prices more stable," Faisal said in a statement in Jakarta, Monday.

He added that the government's efforts are very important, especially when the current geopolitical conditions trigger an increase in world crude oil prices.

In addition, this effort also ensures that the price of subsidized fuel such as Pertalite, which is the most widely used, will not increase.

According to him, the payment of compensation is very important, because it can maintain the financial health of the BUMN. On the other hand, if subsidized fuel and LPG are only charged to Pertamina, it will certainly have an impact on the company's financial cash.

"If it is only charged to Pertamina, it will certainly disrupt Pertamina's finances. Moreover, the burden of subsidies continues to increase. So there must be an intervention from the State Budget even though it is not paid all at once," said Faisal.

With the decrease in the payment of subsidized fuel and LPG compensation earlier this month by Rp64 trillion, it is hoped that Pertamina can improve efficiency, even though the current conditions are quite difficult for the BUMN to do so.

As is known, in early July, Pertamina had received a payment from the government for compensation for the distribution of subsidized fuel and LPG which had been carried out in 2021 amounting to Rp64.5 trillion.

The compensation payment is part of several compensation payments that have been made by the Government for the distribution of subsidized BBM and LPG for the community.

As of April 2022, the Government has paid compensation of Rp. 29.0 trillion, so that as a whole, throughout 2022, the total payment of subsidies and compensation for the period until 2021 that has been paid by the Government to Pertamina is Rp. 93.5 trillion.

According to him, efforts still need to be made with regard to efficiency at Pertamina, but at the very least, the payment of compensation can ensure that fuel prices can be reached by the public in a condition where there is still a scarring effect due to the pandemic.

Therefore, Faisal appealed to the public to be aware that the current conditions are very difficult for both Pertamina and the government so that they are expected to be wiser in consuming subsidized fuel and LPG.

"In addition to saving money, subsidized fuel and LPG should only be consumed by the lower middle class," he said.