Pertamina proposes use of control cards

Indonesia’s state-owned oil company PT Pertamina has proposed that the government introduce a “control card” system in the distribution of subsidized kerosene, to ensure that the fuel is only made available to the intended segments of the population. “So far, an open system is being used in the distribution of subsidized kerosene so that anybody can buy it. This often causes scarcities in the market such as what happened last December,” Pertamina spokesman Toharso said. The wrong parties had been buying up subsidized kerosene because of a price disparity with non-subsidized fuel which could be as much as Rp2,250 (US$.24) for kerosene and Rp4,300 (US$.47) for diesel fuel. The open system should be changed into a closed one in which kerosene could be bought only by people in possession of control cards, Pertamina recommended. (January 5, 2007)