Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – Members of the House of the Representatives are showing opposition to the government's plan to increase fuel prices that they suspect is driven by a "political motive".

"I object to the plan because the President has previously said that he would provide financial aid to the people. I am afraid that the aid refers to direct cash assistance (BLT), which was used as a tool to win the previous presidential election," People's Conscience Party (Hanura) lawmaker Akbar Faisal said during the House's plenary session on Tuesday.

"Therefore, I urge the House to carefully decide [whether or not to approve the proposal]," he added. He pointed out that any policies should be carefully established when approaching the 2014 legislative and presidential elections because the ruling party might abuse their power for political interest.

Totok Daryanto, a National Mandate Party (PAN) lawmaker, said that he was not sure that the increase in fuel prices would save the state budget as proposed by the government.

"The government must dare to save expenses in other sectors to save the state budget, instead of using a fuel price hike plan as a reason," he told reporters on the sidelines of the session.