Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Former Vice President Jusuf Kalla has offered several ways to solve the problem of recent gas cylinder explosions.

"Gas cylinder explosions lately has nothing to do with kerosene-to-gas conversion program, but it is a gas problem as a whole," Jusuf Kalla said after a workshop on the solution of conflicts in South Philippine and South Thailand organized by the European Union and Asean here on Friday.

Kalla explained that gas-related accidents did not only happen with three-kilogram cylinders but also with 12-kilogram cylinders, and this proved the accidents had nothing to do with the gas conversion policy.

"The many explosions of three-kilogram gas cylinders lately happened not because the kerosene-to-gas conversion program was a mistake but because of criminal acts and lack of control," the former vice president said.

Therefore he suggested that state oil company PT Pertamina apply tighter control in the field because the gas cylinders belong to Pertamina, and "if there is a damaged tube, it is the responsibility of Pertamina," Kalla said.

He said the second step was that Pertamina in a certain time should check the quality of gas cylinders that had been circulated in the community.

"It means Pertamina should open gas cylinder repair workshops to mend the damaged cylinders without withdrawing them from house to house," Kalla said.

He added that at least once every ten days the gas cylinders should be returned to the bulk LPG filling stations (SPBE) for quality check.

The third step according to Kalla was that the police should take the strongest possible act against those who made the injection to the gas cylinders.

Kalla said many gas cylinders were out of order because of illegal injection and it was a pure criminal act

However, the former vice president also admitted that he bore a moral responsibility for the government` program to replace kerosene with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in households.

Kalla said he felt morally responsible for the efforts to provide low-income people with LPG in three-kilogram cylinders because it was he who recommended the program to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono when he was still in office. (*)