TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Publish What You Pay (PWYP) researcher Aryanto Nugroho criticized Government Regulation (PP) Number 25 of 2024 which the government just issued. President Jokowi signed the regulation on Thursday, May 30, 2024.
PP Number 25 of 2024 results from a revision of Government Regulation (PP) Number 96 of 2021 concerning implementing Mineral and Coal Mining Business Activities. The government gives the green light to religious social organizations (ormas) in this new regulation.
Aryanto said PP 25 violates the Law on Minerals and Coal or the Minerba Law, especially Article 83A which regulates the offering of special mining business permit areas (WIUPK).
“In the Minerba Law, WIUPK offers for BUMN (state-owned enterprises), BUMD (regional-owned enterprises), and private business entities. “Religious organizations own no business entities,” said Aryanto in a written statement to Tempo, on Friday, May 31, 2024.
“In order to improve community welfare, WIUPK can be offered on a priority basis to business entities owned by religious community organizations,” reads paragraph 1. WIUPK as referred to in paragraph 1 is the area of the former Coal Mining Concession Work Agreement or PKP2B.
Aryanto said that there would be many problems and risks if Article 83A were implemented. “Technical, institutional, environmental problems, potential horizontal conflicts, etc.,” he said.
Therefore, Aryanto urged President Jokowi to revoke PP Number 25 of 2024 immediately. Moreover, he said, the revision of this regulation was taking place behind closed doors and was not transparent.
The government’s plan to distribute mining business permits was discussed some time ago. The Center for Economic and Natural Resources Studies (Pusesda) also conveyed one of the objections.
Pusesda Director Ilham Rifki believes that granting mining business permits to mass organizations does not guarantee profits for the state. On the other hand, this policy has the potential to damage the investment climate in Indonesia’s mining sector.
Ilham said that the distribution of mining business permits to religious organizations amidst the unclear process of revocation and restoration has the potential to disrupt mining governance. He is also worried that this will only end in buying and selling or brokering mining business permits, but not in exploitation.
“Mining activities are a specific business, with large capital and long term. “This requires the perpetrator to have special reliability and competence,” he said to Tempo, on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.
Meanwhile, Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said that granting mining business permits to religious organizations is not a problem as long as it is done properly. After all, said Bahlil, religious organizations also play a role in managing the people.
“There should be no conflict of interest, that’s right. “Managed professionally, looking for good partners,” he said at the Ministry of Investment, on Monday, April 29, 2024
Source: Tempo