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Coordinating Minister for the Economy: Number of Poor Will Increase
Sunday, 14 August, 2005 | 17:31 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie has said he anticipates that the total number of poor people will increase following a poverty census so that fuel subsidies can be paid direct.

“The number of poor people will increase by between 10 and 20 percent,” said Bakrie after opening the National Congress of the Indonesian Engineers Association in Jakarta on Friday (12/08).

According to the coordinating minister, the number of poor people has increased because people who are not poor have claimed they are poor because they know they will receive money.

According to data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), the number of poor people in Indonesia has reached 36 million people.

Bakrie said that the government was still waiting for details of poor people from the BPS in order to calculate the fuel compensation.

What is for sure is that the government must immediately change the subsidies system from subsidized products to direct subsidies given to those who are entitled to receive them.

“Now, the subsidies are enjoyed by rich people,” stated Bakrie. (Agus Supriyanto-Tempo News Room)