JAKARTA: The government is considering using vehicle types to determine who can buy Pertalite, the subsidised RON 90 petrol, as a vehicle can reflect its owner’s socioeconomic status, Coordinating Economy Minister Airlangga Hartarto said on Friday.
“We were previously [discussing] basing it on the type of vehicle. The type of vehicle reflects a person’s [socioeconomic] decile,” Airlangga told reporters in Jakarta on Friday.
Airlangga did not specify which vehicle types would face restrictions, saying the government was still working on the mechanism and more details would be announced once the rules were finalised.
“We will finalise it and refine [the mechanism],” Airlangga said, declining to provide details on which vehicle types would be subject to restrictions.
Read also: Indonesia weighs subsidised fuel curbs for luxury cars
The government had been exploring the idea of barring households in the top socioeconomic groups from buying Pertalite as it seeks to improve the distribution of fuel subsidies and reduce its longstanding fiscal burden.
Under the latest plan disclosed by Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, the government would restrict purchases by those classified in deciles 9 and 10 under the National Socioeconomic Single Data (DTSEN) system, which together represent the top 20 per cent of households.
The proposal, however, had recently drawn public backlash across social media, with many people checking their decile status themselves and expressing surprise that their classification did not match their actual financial situation.
Some who considered themselves middle-income were placed in decile 10, the highest-income bracket, fuelling a broader online debate over the accuracy of the government’s classification.
In response to the backlash, Airlangga urged the public to wait for updated socioeconomic data as Statistics Indonesia (BPS) conducts its 2026 national socioeconomic survey (Susenas) and the Economic Census to update the 10 decile groups.
Purbaya said on Thursday that restricting Pertalite purchases by the wealthiest households could save about 10 per cent of the government’s planned subsidy spending.
“We will try it [limiting purchases] over the next few months, starting with decile 10,” Purbaya said, as quoted by Kompas.com.
“We’re not restricting it, we just want to make sure the subsidy goes to the right people.”
Read also: House warns of consumer shift to subsidised fuels after Pertamax price hike
The government had considered restricting purchases of subsidised fuel for years, particularly after soaring global oil prices and a sharp depreciation of the rupiah against the United States dollar following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed fuel subsidy costs well above budgeted levels in 2022.
Previous proposals included limiting purchases of Pertalite and Solar, Pertamina’s subsidised diesel fuel with a cetane number (CN) of 48, based on vehicle type and engine capacity.
Under an earlier plan, vehicle owners would have been required to register through a smartphone application so Pertamina could verify whether they were eligible to buy subsidised fuel.
But the plan was ultimately delayed as the government opted instead to raise subsidised fuel prices in 2022, which have remained unchanged until now.
Meanwhile, Pertamina had raised prices of its non-subsidised fuels by around 32 per cent in June this year amid recent volatility in global crude oil prices and prevailing market conditions. - Jakarta Post/ANN
