REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Zulkifli Hasan asked the government to be careful in deciding the prices of fuel oils.

"I hope the government will be cautious in deciding the prices of fuel oils. It should not follow the market price mechanism," Zulkifli Hasan said when contacted by Antara here on Sunday.

He said that fuel oils should be subsidized as required by Article 33 of the Constitution, meaning that the if the government left fuel oil prices to the market mechanism, it violated the Constitution.

"Fuel oil should be subsidized based on the message of the Constitution which suggested that it should serve the interest of the people. If the price of fuel oils follows the market price, it meas that the government is potentially violating the Constitution," he said.

In the meantime, Chairman of the Indonesian Hindu Youths Association (Peradah) Wayan Sudane said the government should review its policy regarding the fuel oil prices. It should consider facts in the field.

"The government should review it again to avoid putting burden on the people," Sudane added.

On March 28, 2015, the government hiked the prices of premium gasoline and diesel fuel by Rp500 per liter, respectively.

The prices of premium gasoline were raised from Rp6,800 to Rp7,300 per liter for regions outside Java, Madura and Bali (Jamali), and from Rp6,900 to R7,400 for regions in Jamali.

The price of subsidized diesel oil was also increased from Rp6,400 per liter to Rp6,900 per liter both for regions inside and outside Java, Madura and Bali.

This was the second time that the government raised the gasoline and diesel oil prices in March after increasing them earlier on March 1.

The following day, on March 29, 2015, Balinese mass organizations grouped in the Alliance of People Rejecting Fuel Price Hike staged a rally in front of Bajra Sandhi Monument.

"We firmly reject the Jokowi-JK government's policy to raise fuel prices," spokesman for the alliance Retno Dewi said.

The alliance also demanded that the government lift the energy and mineral resources minister's decree number 2486/MEM/2015.

During the rally, the alliance also called on the people to protest against the fuel price policy by any means.

"In the era of the Jokowi-JK government, the fuel prices had ever been raised, leading to an increase in the prices of other goods. Though the fuel prices were later lowered the prices of other commodities had not declined ever since," she said.

Retno predicted the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) would increase following the fuel price hike, adding to the burden of low-income people.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla said earlier the fuel prices rose Rp500 a liter as of Saturday (March 28) due to the rupiah's weakening against the US dollar.

"We know that the rupiah still hovers above Rp13,000 per dollar while the oil prices also have increased again," he said.

The fuel price hike would surely have positive and negative impacts, he noted.

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