Jakarta. Indonesia could save around 10%, or Rp21 trillion ($1.2 billion), of its fuel subsidy budget by restricting subsidized Pertalite gasoline purchases by the country’s wealthiest households, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said Thursday.

The government plans to initially bar households in decile 10, the top 10% of households ranked by socioeconomic status, from buying Pertalite, which currently sells for Rp10,000 ($0.60) per liter.

“We are still calculating the savings. Roughly one-tenth,” Purbaya told reporters at parliament in Jakarta on Thursday.

The government is also considering expanding the restriction to decile 9, which would bring about 57.4 million people, or roughly 20% of Indonesia’s population, within the two highest socioeconomic groups.

Indonesia spends heavily to keep fuel and other energy prices affordable. The 2026 state budget allocates Rp210.1 trillion ($11.83 billion) for energy subsidies, while total support for the energy sector, including compensation payments to state-owned companies, reaches Rp381.3 trillion.

The government argues that higher-income households should not receive fuel subsidies intended primarily to support lower-income consumers.

Authorities are preparing a system developed by state energy company Pertamina to identify consumers eligible for subsidized fuel. Those excluded would have to use higher-priced, unsubsidized fuels such as Pertamax.

Purbaya said the government would use the initial restriction as a test before deciding whether to expand the policy.

Economists caution that deciles 9 and 10 do not necessarily indicate wealth, with most still considered middle class and only 1% truly affluent.

Fatkur Huda, an economist at Muhammadiyah University of Surabaya, said socioeconomic deciles measure a household’s relative position rather than its actual income or wealth.

He urged the government to consider additional indicators such as actual income, household debt, asset ownership, vehicle type and fuel usage.

“Subsidies must be properly targeted, but efforts to fix targeting errors should not create new ones,” Fatkur said.

Indef economist Imaduddin Abdullah said Indonesia should shift from fuel subsidies to direct aid for eligible households, making support more targeted and reducing price distortions.

“Removing subsidies is politically difficult because it is often associated with higher energy prices,” he said.

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