If The Price Of Pertamax Goes Up, Pertalite Can Return To Be The Main Choice

Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash

JAKARTA - PKS has expressed its disagreement with the discourse to be able to adjust the price of non-subsidized fuel or usually Pertamax. The reason is that this discourse has already received the green light from Commission VI, which agrees with the adjustment.

Commission VII itself has never discussed the issue of the Pertamax price increase. Once in an FGD, Pertamina raised this issue, but in general, the members who were present responded coldly.

Mulyanto who is a member of Commission VII DPR RI from the PKS faction, asked the government to be consistent in making policies related to domestic fuel prices. In addition, this policy should have been carried out by taking into account the purchasing power of the people who have not recovered properly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This issue of consistency is important so that the government's policies are easy to understand and get public support. An example is related to the price of Pertamax. At the beginning of the pandemic when world oil and gas prices fell to their lowest point, the government did not lower the price of Pertamax," Mulyanto explained in his statement, Wednesday, March 30.

"Now, when oil and gas prices rise, the government immediately discusses raising the price of Pertamax. This is not consistent. People are at a disadvantage," explained Mulyanto.

As a result, the public cannot distinguish which type of fuel is general, which is special fuel for assignment, and which is subsidized fuel. Because all fuel prices are regulated by the government.

In the future, the government must be consistent regarding policies for general fuel types, whose prices move according to market mechanisms. Let the market determine the price through fair competition between Pertamina and other private companies so that a fair price is formed.

In addition, the increase in Pertamax will directly suppress Pertalite, because it can be predicted that Pertamax users will switch to Pertalite. Because the price difference is wide enough to encourage this to happen.