The misuse of subsidized diesel fuel in Pelalawan Regency, Riau, is increasingly worrying. This illegal practice seems to run without any legal hurdles, accompanied by acts of thuggery against journalists and the emergence of bribery issues to silence local media social control.
Based on gathered information, the syndicate allegedly led by individuals with the initials KS and IM operates a single-gate coordination scheme. They are suspected of distributing routine funds of Rp 200,000 per month to dozens of rogue journalists to suppress news coverage regarding the hoarding of subsidized diesel. Efforts to directly confirm this with the suspected perpetrators have not yet received a response.
To avoid surveillance by authorities and the public, the activities of this storage warehouse frequently move locations. After being widely reported operating on Jalan Koridor RAPP KM 3, the illicit business has now been detected shifting to the Jalan Sultan Syarif Kasim area, right in front of SDN 09 Pangkalan Kerinci. Although the perpetrator previously claimed that his warehouses had been closed, findings in the field show that loading and unloading activities of diesel using pickup trucks are still ongoing openly.
Tensions arose when several journalists tried to document suspicious activities at the new location, which was fenced with corrugated iron. The warehouse guards aggressively obstructed the press work, even hurling harsh insults and chasing the journalists. The alibi presented by the guards also seemed bizarre, claiming the pile of storage tanks at the location was asphalt belonging to the local government.
The rampant intimidation and unilateral confessions regarding payments made to rogue law enforcement officers have strengthened public pressure for the police to take decisive action. A comprehensive and indiscriminate crackdown is urgently needed to safeguard the rights of underprivileged communities to the subsidized fuel that has been misappropriated.
