Jakarta – Protests have continued in several cities across the archipelago against the soaring price of staple foods and other commodities, spurred by the recent 22 percent increase in fuel prices.

Hundreds of fishermen demonstrated at the Mataram district legislature in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) on Tuesday, urging the government to pay attention to their economic plight following the fuel price rises.

The demonstrators, including mothers and their children, complained that the increases in commodity prices had made them suffer further.

"We are forced sometimes to eat corn and cassava because the price of rice has risen," Midah, a 36-year-old resident, who joined the demonstrators from the town of Ampenan in NTB, said.

The protesters also accused certain local individuals or officials as being responsible for the dwindling government relief allocated to them.

They said most of the rice and financial assistance, aimed at helping address the economic problems of poor people in the province, had missed its target.

The demonstrators were fishermen who usually sailed using boats hired from local rich people.

Farid, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) leader who accompanied the protesting fishermen, suspected that most of the rice and financial assistance was not delivered properly to the poor. The use of the reduced relief was also not clear, he added.

Farid, head of the Institute for Empowerment of People in Coastal Areas, said the local government had promised to provide between 15 kilograms (kg) and 20 kg of rice to each fishing family in Ampenan. Apart from that, they would also have received boats worth at least Rp 2.5 million each.

But in reality, he said, every fisherman's family only got five kg of rice, along with a vessel that, he claimed, was not seaworthy. "According to local fishermen, the boats are estimated each to cost less than Rp 1 million. So where has the remaining Rp 1.5 million gone?" Farid questioned.

In a response to the protest, head of Central Ampenan village H. Cholid said the relief had been channeled properly to the targets, but admitted that the assistance would be delivered gradually due to the poor financial state of the local administration.

In the West Java town of Indramayu, thousands of commuters were stranded on the street as drivers went on strike from last Thursday to oppose the fuel price increases. The strike by at least 120 drivers of city minivans won support from local NGOs and student groups.

In an effort to tackle the problem, the Indramayu administration deployed buses and trucks to carry stranded passengers to their workplaces.

The striking drivers said the increased price of gasoline and diesel fuel had raised their operational costs, while many passengers were reluctant to pay more that the established bus fares.

"We are going on strike to protest the government's decision to raise fuel prices without taking into account the fate of low-income people," said Sapiudin, a bus driver plying the Indramayu to Cirebon route.

A similar strike was also staged by drivers in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, where fuel price rises have caused the price of staple foods and other basic commodities to soar since Thursday.

Despite the strike, many other drivers have unilaterally charged their passengers fares higher than those already set.

In several traditional markets and shopping malls across Makassar, rice was sold at Rp 70,000 per sack, from Rp 62,500 before the fuel prices were increased on Wednesday. The price of cheap rice provided by the local logistics office also rose from Rp 2,100 per kg to Rp 2,500.

Meanwhile, cooking oil, which used to cost Rp 3,500 to Rp 3,750 per liter, is now sold at Rp 4,000. The price of other basic commodities like eggs, wheat and vegetables has also soared. Traders said the increases took into account the increase in fuel prices.