Arientha Primanita & Ulma Haryanto – The Three-kilogram gas cylinders may be subsidized, but for West Jakarta resident Rahmono, 50, they are little more than cheap time bombs.
On Tuesday, he said he found out what terror felt like. At around 5 a.m., his wife woke him saying their neighbor Samini was standing outside their house, shaking and speaking in a trembling voice.
"Samini was in a dreadful condition," Rahmono told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday. "She told us that there had been an explosion in her home, and that the gas cylinder was still leaking. She asked us to please help her son, Arjun, who was still in the house."
The residents of the densely packed Kalimati village in Kedaung Kaliangke subdistrict gathered around and screamed for 14-year-old Arjun to run out of the burning house, he recounted.
Samini's son eventually came out. "He looked fine from a distance. But as soon as someone touched him, his skin fell off his body," Rahmono said. "I have no idea what would have happened if the cylinder had been full."
Samini and Arjun – just two of the numerous victims of the gas explosions that have rocked the nation since this year – are now being treated in a sterile burn unit at the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital.
Government response
The government and state-owned energy company PT Pertamina have announced various plans to address the explosions involving the three-kg canisters, tens of millions of which have been distributed since 2006 under a program to reduce fuel subsidies by swapping kerosene for cheaper liquefied petroleum gas.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered thorough investigations, Pertamina has started distributing certified hoses and regulators to replace faulty ones identified to be the cause of most of the explosions, and police have initiated a crackdown on illegal distributors and those who transfer the contents of the subsidized cylinders to the 12- or 50-kg containers.
But the explosions continue and the number of victims is rising.
Wianda Pusponegoro, Pertamina's media relations manager, said the company would cover the cost of medical care for Samini and her son, including necessary plastic surgeries. That, at least, provides some comfort to 37-year-old Dalim, Samini's husband.
"I work in Bengkulu. I am an ordinary construction worker. I spent all I had and left for Jakarta immediately," Dalim told the Globe on Wednesday, at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital.
"Before I arrived in Jakarta, my relatives and friends helped cover the cost at the previous hospital [Sumber Waras hospital where mother and son had first been taken].
A Pertamina officer also came to check when they were still in Sumber Waras. So far we have already spent more than Rp 1 million [$110] for their medication, such as ointments and painkillers," he said.
He said that his family had never applied for regional health care schemes such as SKTM or Gakin because he was not well informed about insurance plans. "Maybe after this I will apply for it, God willing," he said.
Wianda says Pertamina has so far spent about Rp 3 billion treating people injured by canister blasts since 2007.
The company also provides Rp 25 million in compensation for deaths, and those permanently disabled will receive the same amount.
"For incidents that involve three-kg gas cylinders we dispatch a checker to examine the victim, and we then discuss with the family whether they want us to take over the financing or receive reimbursement," Wianda said. "There is no limit to how much that can be spent for treatment, including surgeries."
State of fear
The compensation, however, does nothing to take away the fear the explosions has created.
Rahmono's wife, Yuli, said she was so terrorized by what happened to their neighbors that she was seriously considering switching back to kerosene, despite the higher costs.
"I literally turn on the gas nozzle with my feet stretched out behind me, as far as possible, and my face as far away as possible. I'm afraid that it will literally explode in my face," Yuli said.
Vendors sell kerosene for Rp 8,000 per liter, but the three-kg gas cylinders cost just Rp 13,000.
"At this point, I will buy kerosene. My life is more important," Yuli said, echoing a sentiment that has been expressed by many throughout the country.
It therefore comes as little surprise that enterprising individuals are trying to capitalize on the situation.
As Yuli was speaking, two men in red shirts down the alley, who seemed at first to be demonstrating the safety of using the gas canisters, drew a small crowd.
Claiming to be employees of IndoGas, the men showed the traumatized residents of Kaliangke how to safely use the fuel. As they took out the regulators, one of the men said: "With this regulator, it is guaranteed that the gas will not leak."
The other then said: "See! There is no fire here," as he sparked a lighter around the tube. One of them, named Rian, said that IndoGas was a private company based in Medan.
"We expand our business here and all the regulators and pipes are delivered from Medan," Rian told the Globe.
The two men sold the regulator for Rp 219,000, which could be paid in three installments. They sold the pipes for Rp 79,000 if paid in cash and Rp 99,000 if paid in installments.
"We are not forcing you to buy it. But remember, the safety of your family lies in your hands," Rian said, adding that the company would provide a one-year guarantee and they would install the equipment themselves.
"We can make sure that the regulator can last up to five years," Rian said. But when the Globe asked what number to call in case of complaints, he declined to give the information and said "officials" would regularly conduct checks.
Pertamina's Wianda said the government, through the Ministry of Industry, was already providing residents with replacement regulators and hoses – Rp 20,000 for regulators and Rp 15,000 for hoses.
"Those are the valid accessories that are government verified and based on the national standard," Wianda said.
"Anyone who charges more should be questioned, because the government provides safe and cheap accessories through the formal agents," she said, adding that Pertamina is collecting reports on such companies and will report them to the Ministry of Industry.
But Tia and Masti, two housewives from Kaliangke, seemed to be interested in what the IndoGas agents had to offer and asked about the installment schemes. "I have not cooked using my gas cylinder" since the explosion on Tuesday, Tia said.