The Indonesian government decided on Saturday to raise fuel prices massively by an average margin of 126 percent, the official news agency Antara reported.

The decision as reflected in Presidential Decree No. 55 would take effect on Saturday, Antara said.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie told the press after a cabinet meeting that kerosene would be sold at 2,000 rupiahs (about 0.2 US dollar) per liter over 700 rupiahs (about 0.07 US dollars) before, gasoline at 4,500 rupiahs (about 0.45 US dollar) per liter over 2,400 rupiahs (about 0.24 US dollars) before, and diesel at 4,300 rupiahs (about 0.43 US dollar) per liter over 2,100 rupiahs (about 0.21 US dollars) before.

The fuel price hike was aimed to alleviate the government's burden of subsidy, which has become ever heavier as world oil price keeps on rising.

Other details of the price hike have not been disclosed yet.

Thousands of people staged rallies in major cities across Indonesia on Thursday and Friday, pressuring the government to drop the plan and voicing dissatisfaction with the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono government.

Despite an oil-rich nation, Indonesia lacks the adequate technology and investment to develop and tap into its own oil fields as its economy moves forward and grows in a larger scale. As a result, it began to import oil from other countries in recent years.

Source: Xinhua