ULUWATU ~ At a meeting in Pekendungan Temple in Tanah Lot, Balinese priests discussed the reformulation of procedures and ethics of maligia (Hindu cremation sequence), a spokesman said.

In addition to discussing the reformulation of procedures and ethics of maligia (Hindu cremation sequence), Balinese priests at a high meeting that took place in Pekendungan Temple in Tanah Lot also discussed the issue of villa construction in the area, a spokesman said.

One of the priests said that he was surprised that Badung officials had issued permits to developers in the first place, since it was illegal to build in the vicinity of the sacred area.

“I do not know exactly what these officials want since they’re the ones who made regional regulations against construction in the first place. Then they issue developers the building permit to allow construction. So are regional regulations still in effect now? The government needs to please prevent construction from reaching the yard of Uluwatu Temple,” the priest said.

He also said that the regent could not pursue regional income by sacrificing area that was considered holy and sacred.

He added that Badung Regency needed to apologize to the Balinese and demolish the villa project that had started construction within Uluwatu’s sacred area.

JAKARTA ~ The central government confirmed this week that it will raise its subsidized fuel prices to protect the state budget from the soaring price of oil.

“We will raise the subsidized fuel price within the limits that people can afford. We’re now working on that and we’ll announce it to the public later,” Coordinating Minister for the Economy Boediono told reporters.

He did not indicate the size of the price hikes, which are likely to further fuel inflation in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy ahead of parliamentary elections next year.

Rising fuel prices helped drive Indonesia’s inflation rate to 8.96 percent in April, its fastest rise in more than 18 months.

Indonesia’s ballooning fuel subsidies are putting pressure on the budget and draining funds away from spending on the poor and crumbling infrastructure.

The subsidies have become increasingly expensive as the price of oil has surged.

Fuel subsidies this year are projected to nearly triple to Rp126.8 trillion (US$13.8 billion), or about 12 percent of the state budget, based on a revised oil price of $95 per barrel.

In afternoon Asian trade on Monday, New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, was 20 cents higher at $116.52 per barrel.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the question was no longer whether prices would be raised, but by how much.

“We are not at the stage of talking about whether to raise it or not, but which commodities should be increased and whether it will be 20, 25 or 30 percent …,” he said.

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SEMINYAK ~ One of the biggest populations of wild orangutans on Borneo will be extinct in three years without drastic measures to stop the expansion of palm oil plantations, conservationists said this week.

“For Central Kalimantan, the species will be gone as soon as three years from now,” Centre for Orangutan Protection director Hardi Bhaktiantoro told a press conference on Wednesday.

More than 30,000 wild orangutans live in the forests of Central Kalimantan province, or more than half the entire orangutan population of Borneo island.

Experts believe the overall extinction rate of Borneo orangutans is 9 percent per year, but in Central Kalimantan they are disappearing even faster due to unchecked expansion of palm oil plantations.

“The expansion of palm oil plantations is wiping out entire habitats and unless the government takes drastic measures to protect these orangutan sanctuaries there is no way to reverse the trend,” Bhaktiantoro said.

Orangutans are listed as endangered by the Swiss-based World Conservation Union, the paramount scientific authority on imperiled species.

It says numbers of the ape have fallen by well over 50 percent in the past 60 years as a result of habitat loss, poaching and the pet trade.

BI Hikes Key Rate: The central bank raised its key policy rate this week by 25 basis points to 8.25 percent to rein in soaring inflation.

It was Bank Indonesia’s first interest rate hike in more than two years. The central bank last hiked the benchmark BI rate in December 2005, to its peak of 12.75 percent.

The decision took into account the prospect of inflationary pressures in coming months and the volatility of global commodity prices, BI senior deputy governor Miranda Goeltom told a briefing on Tuesday.

Aussie Firm Wyes Krakatau Steel: Australian firm BlueScope Steel Ltd. has expressed an interest in participating in the privatization of Indonesia’s largest steel maker, PT Krakatau Steel.

A spokeswoman for BlueScope in Australia said discussions were at a very early stage and it was too early to provide any details.

India’s Tata Steel could also bid for a stake in Krakatau Steel, according to the state-run news agency Antara at the weekend.