Sri Mulyani Scorns The Use Of Official Cars: Pertamax Prices Are Far Below, You Actually Enjoy Subsidies

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani revealed that the current condition is still filled with continuing uncertainty. After the COVID-19 pandemic occurred two years ago, global dynamics are now exacerbated by the East European crisis between Russia and Ukraine which has an impact on various sectors.

“Many countries are now facing tremendous pressure, be it political, economic and social due to rising oil, energy and food prices. It's not something trivial," he said during the agenda for the Launching of Independent Learning with the Minister of Education and the Chancellor of Higher Education on Monday, June 27.

The Minister of Finance explained that in this condition, RI did benefit because it was a country producing natural commodities. However, the revenue collected is then optimized as capital for the benefit of the people.

“Indonesia took the decision that the increase in commodities resulted in a windfall that was used to protect the public, protect the economic recovery, and protect the health of the state budget. The three goals are all important," he said.

According to the Minister of Finance, the state needs to take steps to protect it, considering that it is impossible for all pressures to increase prices to be passed on to the public because it will disrupt the resilience of the economy.

“People can't be relied on to take the shock of the whole hike. If not, it means that the entire fuel has gone up at least twice. It is also impossible for all of them to be carried over to SOEs such as Pertamina and PLN. Therefore, the subsidy must increase," he said.

“You know how much subsidy we have to give? IDR 380 trillion, on top IDR 154 trillion. So ladies and gentlemen, you can enjoy it in the form of electricity or if you were here by car. Even when you argue using Pertamax, it turns out that Pertamax is still far below the (economical) price. You actually enjoy subsidies,” he stressed.

For information, the budget for energy subsidies and compensation this year has increased significantly in line with the government's efforts to protect the public from price pressures. The commitment to increase the budget is in line with the projected state revenue which is believed to increase by IDR 420 trillion from the 2022 state budget target.