Deri Dahuri – On Wednesday February 5, thousands of workers who are members of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPI) and the Labour Party held a demonstration in front of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) offices in Jakarta.

They demanded the removal of ESDM Minister Bahlil Lahadalia, who is considered to have issued a policy that harmed the ordinary people and even led to a death of an elderly woman.

In a speech, the President of the KSPI and the Labour Party, Said Iqbal, stressed that the policies implemented by Lahadalia had made things difficult for millions of people, especially workers and small traders. "If you can't work properly, sack Bahlil!", exclaimed Iqbal in a press release on Wednesday.

One of the policies in question was the prohibition on the sale of 3 kg Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) canisters at the retail or small-shop level. According to Iqbal, this policy is contrary to the directives of President Prabowo Subianto who has repeatedly emphasised that the government does not make policies that hurt the ordinary people.

The KSPI and the Labour Party put forward three main demands. First, guarantee the availability of 3kg LPG canisters for communities. Second, restore the LPG 3kg sales system at the retail or small-shops level to make access easier. Third, sack Lahadalia because his policy is considered to make things difficult for the ordinary people.

Iqbal also highlighted the real impact of this policy, including the long lines of people queuing just to get 3 kg LPG canisters. Moreover, he revealed that an elderly woman died after queuing from dawn until evening.

"This is embarrassing for the process of preparing and implementing policies in Indonesia. It's workers and the little people who feel the most impact. Evaluate and sack the ESDM minister!", asserted Said.

The protest action gave a strong signal that energy policies that does not side with the ordinary people will continue to attracted resistance. Until now, there has been no official response from the ESDM regarding the workers' demands. (Fajar Ramadan/SG-2)

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Kebijakan Sengsarakan Rakyat Kecil, KSPI Minta Menteri ESDM Dipecat".]

Source: https://sokoguru.id/ekonomi/kebijakan-sengsarakan-rakyat-kecil-kspi-minta-menteri-esdm-dipecat