Anita Rachman & Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – The government was criticized on Tuesday for not taking the spate of gas cylinder explosions seriously, as a planned meeting on the issue with lawmakers had to be canceled due to the absence of Energy Minister Darwin Zahedy Saleh and National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi.
House of Representatives Commission VII, overseeing energy, was scheduled to meet with Darwin, Ito, the president director of state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina, Karen Agustiawan, and Agung Laksono, the coordinating minister for people's welfare, to discuss possible solutions to the explosions.
However, only Karen showed up. "The energy minister sent me a short message, saying that he was not feeling well, that he was tired after attending yesterday's meeting," said Effendi Simbolon, Commission VII deputy chairman.
On Monday, Commission VII met several top officials, including Darwin, to discuss the electricity rate hikes. "I don't understand," Effendi said. "I also attended the meeting, but I am feeling OK."
Effendi said Agung was not in the country at the moment. He added that he had not heard from the police about Ito's absence.
High-ranking officials from the energy and people's welfare ministries showed up to represent their bosses, but several lawmakers said the meeting couldn't go on without Darwin, a crucial policy maker and key to finding a solution to the explosions. The meeting was rescheduled for Thursday.
Tulus Abad, from the Indonesian Consumer Protection Foundation (YLKI), said Tuesday's canceled meeting was typical of the official response to the explosion.
"It shows how the government is not serious about handling this problem, which in fact has already become a crisis. The response from ministers has been very poor," he said.
Tulus said it was urgent that officials find a solution. "Moving back to kerosene is not the right move," Tulus said, referring to the widely expressed sentiment among consumers wanting to switch back to kerosene out of fear of the deadly LPG cylinder explosions.
The government and Pertamina have announced various plans to address the explosions involving three-kilogram gas cylinders, 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. But the explosions continue and the number of victims is rising.
Effendi, however, said Tuesday's meeting was not the only one called to discuss the explosions.
He said Commission VII had discussed the problem with the Energy Ministry at a June 7 meeting, resulting in the House recommending that the government conduct a transparent investigation into the explosions and report the results to the legislature and the public.
"We also want a detailed explanation on the explosions and all the data, including the victims, places where the accidents happened and losses," he said.
Satya Widya Yudha, another Commission VII member, said this week that at least 20 lawmakers from various parties had agreed to sign a petition proposing the establishment of a special team to investigate the explosions.