Table 1 Summary of political situations and reform efforts across presidential eras.

1998–1999

Suharto and BJ Habibie

President Suharto stepped down after his over thirty-year rule, mainly due to the political calamity triggered by the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis. Significantly driven by the IMF, Indonesia kick-started the current fuel subsidy reform trajectory. President BJ Habibie took over in the transition period with no policy toward reducing fuel subsidies.

1999–2001

Abdurrahman Wahid

Taking power through a legislative election, President Wahid’s administration successfully introduced regular (monthly) price adjustments of petrol. Mid 2001, the president was ousted.

2001–2004

Megawati Sukarnoputri

Once in power, President Megawati attempted to continue the fuel subsidy reduction trend, but it was significantly opposed. In the end, no significant reform was made, as the reform proposal was then reversed in 2003.

2004–2009

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono I

President Yudhoyono’s first term was marked by the point when Indonesia became a net oil importer in 2004. Through several ad-hoc reductions, his administration arguably successfully reduced subsidies in 2005 and increased the prices of fuels (petrol and diesel) by almost 100 percent during this period.

2009–2014

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono II

The subsidy reduction trend that started in the previous term lasted short. The president could not seek re-election and was generally reluctant to reduce the subsidies further, as Parliament often rejected his reform proposals, as in 2012.

2014–2019

Joko Widodo

President Widodo prioritised further reduction with regular fuel price adjustments alongside a fixed subsidy scheme in late 2014. Fuel prices were initially set to fluctuate during this period. Scholars argue that this period set another positive reform trend, but the trend’s future was still uncertain.