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After three years as a net oil importer, Indonesia has quit the Vienna-based OPEC oil cartel. The decision follows massive subsidy cuts and a 30 per cent increase in domestic fuel prices.
Indonesia will remain a net exporter of the silly shirts world leaders wear at APEC meetings.
Explaining the decision, petroleum minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro cited the high cost of driving to OPEC meetings.
The withdrawal is in line with a long-standing foreign policy that involves smoking a cigar and quipping “I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member.”
Another compelling reason to quit is OPEC’s emergence as the world’s least popular multilateral institution, beating out MONUC, the Axis of Evil and even Merde sans Frontières.
The government sparked street protests after slashing costly subsidies that keep the price of fuel far below the market price. The next target for Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati will be central-government subsidies on pre-mixed alcoholic drinks.
