Joko must now make case for fuel price hike to voters

Jakarta

AFTER announcing Indonesia's second hike in the price of subsidised fuel in as many years, President Joko Widodo faces the daunting task of selling the reform not only to voters but to members of his own party.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle regularly opposed raising the price of subsidised fuel during the decade it was in opposition. When it last held the presidency, Megawati Sukarnoputri, its chairwoman, resisted raising the price of fuel while campaigning for re-election in 2004, only to see her successor have to raise the price twice the next year.