The Drama of the Fuel Price Hike: Pitfalls of Democracy

Democracy once again reveals its true face. In the parliamentary vote on Monday night (17/6/2013),  338 legislators voted in favor of the proposed State Budget of 2013, while 181 of them were against it. In other words, now the government has no barrier to raise fuel prices.

This is a terrible fact. How could a policy that will greatly affect the fate of the masses is determined by voting? Moreover, the vote was cast in playful, absurd fashion among the legislators whose institution often smeared with as a corrupt body.

Yet, whatever their argument is, to raise fuel prices, this policy will definitely add to the misery of the people. It has never been proven that the increase of fuel price makes people more prosperous, better educated and provides better services of public health. What happens is the opposite.

When voting is decisive, we should question the relevance of the pros and cons arguments of the voting put forward by each party. Muhammad Iqbal, a Pakistani thinker, was true when criticizing democracy. He said “Democracy only counts the number of the heads, not the contents of the heads (thought)!”

The claim that democracy brings the voice of the masses is not proven at all. In reality, the masses actually have never been involved in making decisions. Those who decide are the House members, who claim to be the people’s representatives, controlled by the capital owners. They act on behalf of the people, but not for the benefit of the people. Those who take advantages of the policy are the capital owners who play in the upstream and downstream business of oil.

Never have the people been asked before making decisions, whether they agree or disagree. The voice of people is ignored or silenced. What exists is a one-sided campaign of the rulers who continue to spread lies about the importance of the fuel price hike. The result of national survey conducted by National Survey Institute (LSN), which found that 86.1% respondents rejected the government’s plan to raise fuel prices, 12.4% agreed and 1.5% abstained, is surely not counted at all.
Nobel laureate economist, Joseph Stiglitz, while criticizing American political and economic conditions said that democracy is not from the people, by the people and for the people; but rather it is of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%. According to Stigliz, what really happens in the political process of American democracy is full control by a small group of people – 1% of the super-rich, who use their political influence to ensure that the American economy is managed in such a way that they (the capital owners) are the main beneficiaries.
Likewise, similar things happen in Indonesia. These sort of policies are not only to serve primarily the interests of a handful foreign capital owners with the local compradors. The fuel price hike is nothing but total obedience to the mandate of the Letter of Intent (LoI) of International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF requires that Indonesia abolishes fuel subsidies. So, the basic problem is the liberal oil and gas policies legalized by this pro-liberal Act, arising as a product of democracy.

As a member of G20, the policy is followed by the SBY regime and it brings the people nothing but misery. In G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh (2009) and Gyeongju (2010), the voice to remove fuel subsidy has been intensified. In Pittsburgh Summit, the G20 forced its member countries, including Indonesia, to immediately remove the fuel subsidy step by step. In Gyeongju Summit, in South Korea, the Indonesian government promised to implement the removal of energy subsidies, especially in fuel and electricity, starting from 2011.

In a democratic system, people have always been sacrificed in the name of policies. Though, it is true that every policy has its own risks, we question why does the democratic regime always choose the risk that makes people suffer? Even if the government lacks funds, why doesn’t the government take over the management of the mines of gold, oil, coal, largely controlled by the foreigners?

Why doesn’t SBY bring savings to the state budgets by starting from himself and his bureaucrats? Wasteful spending is increased by the state officials: the president salary which is US $ 124,171 or approximately Rp 1.1 billion per year); and the travel budget of the state officials which is Rp 21 trillion.

According to FITRA (The Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency), the President spent Rp 839 million just for his own affairs while Rp 42 billion is spent in each year for the state palace. For the official preparation alone, the President had to allocate the state budget amounting to Rp1, 9 billion. As for his personal security, President SBY also spends Rp52 billion from state budget. This shows that SBY regime has no sense of crisis!

By returning the ownership of the mines to the people, and using the profits entirely for the people, the government will be able to overcome many of financial problems in Indonesia. Why is the government more afraid to the IMF and the World Bank than to his own people?

The fact is that SBY regime better serves the imperialist Western powers than to its people, and is proven when the regime pledged Rp 38.1 trillion to the IMF to rescue the bankruptcy of the Western countries. Ironically, as a remedy for the fuel price hike, the government provides the people with the compensation of Rp 9.3 trillion.

Another evidence that SBY regime only serves a handful of elite capitalists is when the government sets aside Rp 155 billion for the mudflow disaster (caused by PT Lapindo) in East Java. This is revealed in Article 9 of the Bill in 2013 on State Budget for 2013 fiscal year. Lapindo’s disaster is the outcome of greedy businessmen who are still wealthy until now. It might be a compensation of support from a particular party for the fuel price hike.

Shaykh Taqiuddin an-Nabhani in his book Nida’ul Har (Warm Call) tells about the causes of the tragedy in the Islamic world. The founder of Hizb ut-Tahrir asserts: “Verily, the Muslims have suffered from catastrophe due to two tragedies. First, because their rulers become the servants of the infidel invaders. Second, they do not apply the laws revealed by God among them, rather they apply the Kufr system. ”

This is particularly evident in Indonesia. The emergencies of such policy that cause harms to people are caused by the existence of the regime, which are the puppets of the imperialist countries. The rulers unthinkingly follow the wishes and the pressures from the colonialists, through their bodies such as the IMF and the World Bank. Supported by the pro-liberal ministers and the corrupt members of parliament, the ruler prefers to serve foreign interests rather than their own people.

However, all of these can take place because there is a political and economic system which legalizes it. Namely, democracy and capitalist economic system which are applied in Indonesia.

The real change will take place and people will no longer suffer if its two causes are stopped. Firstly, by replacing the kufr democracy with the system of  Khilafah which applies Islamic sharia in totality. Secondly, by replacing the puppet rulers in the Islamic countries with a ruler (Khalifah) that serves the interests of the people. This is what should be the agenda of the struggle of the people.

Finally, we remind the regime of SBY, of the prayer of Prophet Muhammad for rulers who suppress their own people. “O Allah, he has the right to regulate the affairs of my people, but he burdens  them, then give him troubles, and he has the right to regulate the affairs of my people, but he treats them well, then treat him well too.” (Hadits reported by Ahmad and Muslim). Allahu Akbar (Farid Wadjdi-rz)