Indonesia’s state-owned oil company said on August 1 it had not received orders to stop selling a cheap brand of petrol, contrary to social media posts that claimed it would be pulled from gas stations that month. The posts shared a news report originally aired in January which quoted a minister saying he was open to withdrawing Pertalite from the market, without specifying when any proposed changes would come into force.
“Pertalite discontinued in August 2024. Get ready. Everything will be expensive in 2024,” read Indonesian text overlay on a TikTok post from May 22.
The Indonesian government subsidises the price of Pertalite, making it one of the cheapest fuels for the country’s ubiquitous motorbikes and motorbike taxis known as ojek.
In the TikTok video, a news anchor says Pertalite will be withdrawn in August 2024 and replaced by Pertamax Green, which is billed as a more eco-friendly alternative.
Indonesia has for years considered ditching Pertalite, citing concerns over pollution from its traffic-choked roads and a push to reduce oil imports.
But the plan is unpopular, with many arguing that removing the relatively cheap petrol from pumps would hike the price of running motorbikes and cars for millions of Indonesians.
In July, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment, said the government would put “restrictions” on the sale of Pertalite, without giving further details.
That failed to stop posts saying Pertalite would be withdrawn from spreading across TikTok, SnackVideo and X.
Some social media users appeared to believe the claim.
“The people’s hard work is entangled in a very difficult economy,” one commented, adding that commodities should be “cheap”.
“It’s happened, no need to regret it, this is what you voted for,” another wrote, apparently referring to Indonesia’s presidential election in February.
‘Still supplying’ Pertalite
A spokesman from Indonesia’s state-owned oil company Pertamina — which distributes Pertalite — said the posts were baseless.
Fadjar Santoso, head of Pertamina’s public communications department, said the firm had not received any orders to stop or limit its sale.
“Pertalite is a subsidised fuel whose authority lies with the government. Until now, Pertamina is still ordered to supply Pertalite,” he told AFP on August 1.
A keyword search found the news report shared online was originally aired by Indonesian broadcaster BeritaSatu on January 20 (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison between the misleading posts (left) and BeritaSatu’s report (right):
The report covered speculation that Pertalite would be discontinued, quoting Indonesia’s Energy and Mineral Resource Minister Arifin Tasrif saying he did not object to the plan if it did not require extra budget.
He did not mention a specific date when any such plan would come into force.
