Observers raise concerns over nuclear power bill<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A nuclear expert and an environmentalist said
\nyesterday the manner in which the nuclear power bill was rushed
\nthrough the House of Representatives raised doubts about the
\ngovernment's real intentions.<\/p>\n
They said the haste to get the bill through the House
\ncontradicted statements by State Minister of Research and
\nTechnology B.J. Habibie that the government would go nuclear only
\n\"as a last resort\".<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the day the House passed the bill, Habibie
\nrepeated the promise, saying that the government would not build
\na nuclear power plant in the near future.<\/p>\n
Independent nuclear expert Iwan Kurniawan and environmentalist
\nMas Achmad Santosa said the new law could only have been made to
\nlegitimize the government's intention to build a nuclear power
\nplant.<\/p>\n
Iwan said it was a fact that the government (through its
\nNational Atomic Agency) planned to set up its first nuclear plant
\nin 1998 and have it operating by the year 2004.<\/p>\n
\"If going nuclear were to be our last alternative, we
\nshould've chosen to research nuclear power simply to prepare
\nourselves, instead of going straight to a power plant
\nconstruction project,\" Iwan said.<\/p>\n
The government, through several officials, has revealed its
\nplan to construct nuclear power plants capable of generating
\n7,200 megawatts of electricity per day near the dormant volcano
\nMt. Muria in Jepara, Central Java.<\/p>\n
Iwan, however, said he believed there was still a chance the
\ngovernment would decide not to go ahead with its plan.<\/p>\n
He said a nuclear power plant normally takes five years to
\nbuild, and many things could happen during that period.<\/p>\n
Factors that could stop the plant being established include a
\ndecline in the state's economy and political change.<\/p>\n
\"So the presence of the nuclear power law does not directly
\nclear the way for the government to have a nuclear plant.\" Iwan
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The government would have to calculate its foreign loans
\nbefore deciding whether to go nuclear, because it would have to
\nbuy very expensive technology, he said.<\/p>\n
\"We would still have to import the fuel for the plant, and the
\ncountry's lack of skills could stop the project,\" he said, adding
\nthat at present Indonesia \"is only capable of providing sites for
\nnuclear plants.\"<\/p>\n
Mas Achmad Santosa of the Indonesian Center for Environmental
\nLaw said the House ignored public aspirations by endorsing the
\nbill after only 37 days of deliberation.<\/p>\n
\"There should've been a chance for comments and debates,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Santosa said that with the newly endorsed bill at hand, the
\ngovernment had already secured all the legal basis it needed to
\nconstruct a nuclear power plant.<\/p>\n
As for Habibie's promise, Santosa said: \"It's an official
\nstatement. The law doesn't mention nuclear as the last energy
\noption, does it?\"<\/p>\n
Santosa said the law's stipulation that the government needs
\nto \"consult the House\" before constructing a nuclear power plant,
\nhas \"a very weak legal basis\". (aan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/observers-raise-concerns-over-nuclear-power-bill-1447893297",
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