“The price adjustment was made due to the strengthening of the rupiah against the US dollar,” Pertamina’s spokesman Basuki Trikora Putra said.

I’m no economist but even a primary school student should be able to spot the obvious problem with that statement. If the Rupiah is strengthening it should take less of them to buy something with a dollar price base.

Not mentioned is the near doubling of crude oil prices since the government’s last reduction in price for the subsidized fuels. With an election coming up it is not time for the incumbent to raise the prices with the precedent set by the previous incumbent, Megawati.

Simple conclusion, either the spokesman is lying or he is stupid. For a national newspaper to let that sort of thing slip by unquestioned is also indicative of either collusion or incompetence by the press.

Pertamina raises non-subsidized fuels prices | The Jakarta Post