JAKARTA: Several Asian nations are rolling out or planning to enforce measures similar to their COVID-19 response strategies as they try to mitigate energy crises as a result of fuel shortages caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran.
In many Asian countries dependent on oil imports, economic activity has been greatly disrupted since the beginning of the attacks on Feb. 28, which led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz — a critical chokepoint where around 80 percent of the crude oil and liquefied natural gas passing through is destined for Asian markets.
In the Philippines, which according to government estimates has only 45 days of fuel left, the president this week introduced a nationwide state of emergency as the situation began to pose a “threat to the country’s energy security.”
The emergency enables the government to bypass usual processes as it responds to the fallout from the Iran war and “implement responsive and coordinated measures under existing laws to address the risks.”
As the impact on households and businesses has already been felt across the country, the government has distributed cash assistance to public transport workers to help them cope with rising fuel prices and introduced four-day workweeks in the public sector.
Pakistan also announced remote work for half of its public sector employees earlier this month and announced a two-week closure of schools to conserve energy.
In Sri Lanka, a midweek holiday was introduced last week for those working in education, administration and public transportation, with the government encouraging the private sector to “follow suit” and fend off the initial shock from the situation in the Middle East.
In Laos, Vietnam and Thailand, the measures have been more reminiscent of the pandemic, with officials pushing for the return of online-based work to reduce energy consumption.
In Indonesia, the government is also weighing up a work-from-home policy, as it estimates it could cut fuel consumption by up to 20 percent.
“With the fuel price hikes, we need to be more efficient about working hours. We will introduce a one-day work-from-home flexibility out of the five working days,” Chief Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto told reporters.
“We are preparing for its implementation, because we’re hoping this measure will be adopted not just by civil servants, but also private employees and regional governments.”
In contrast with the pandemic, however, the situation offers the possibility of widening the use of public transportation in the largest Asian cities like Jakarta, Manila or Bangkok, which are plagued by traffic jams and vehicle emissions.
“What (governments) should do is to accelerate the energy transition from fossil fuels to new and renewable energy ... (and) mandate the use of public transport such as buses or trains, to get to work for officials and civil servants,” said Nailul Huda, economist from the Center of Economic and Law Studies in Jakarta.
“This won’t disrupt public services and will actually save money.”
