Regulation on dangerous substances to be revised<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government plans to relax the disputed
\nregulation on the importation of goods considered hazardous to
\nhealth.<\/p>\n
The Director General for Drug and Food Control of the Ministry
\nof Health, Wisnu Katim, said yesterday that in the future, not
\nall imported hazardous substances would have to be reported to
\nthe ministry.<\/p>\n
Wisnu said the government would amend a ministerial decree
\nissued in 1983, which requires that all imported hazardous goods
\nbe reported to the health ministry.<\/p>\n
\"The decree was made at a time when deregulation and
\nefficiency was not an important issue and its flaws were detected
\nonly recently,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The announcement came amid growing complaints that the rule
\nwas no longer relevant because its implementation requires
\ncomplicated bureaucratic procedures and enables corrupt
\npractices, such as illegal levies.<\/p>\n
Wisnu said that in the future all imports of \"least hazardous\"
\nmaterials will pass through customs without the importers having
\nto report to the ministry.<\/p>\n
Instead, they will only be required to follow the ministry's
\nguidelines ensuring the safety of workers who handle these
\nsubstances, he added.<\/p>\n
Only substances classified as \"most dangerous\" like certain
\nchemicals and \"very dangerous\", such as inflammables and
\nexplosives, will have to be reported to the health ministry.<\/p>\n
Although it is still in force, the 1983 decree has rarely been
\nput into practice as importers of least dangerous substances did
\nnot bother to report to the government.<\/p>\n
The government's plan to amend the decree was apparently
\nprompted by last week's complaints from businessmen that they
\nwere required to file reports with the ministry when importing
\ncotton.<\/p>\n
Under the 1983 decree, cotton is categorized as among the
\ngoods least hazardous to health, the importation of which must be
\nreported to the ministry.<\/p>\n
Complaint<\/p>\n
The Association of Indonesian Spinners filed a complaint with
\nthe ministry, arguing that the bureaucratic procedure was
\nunnecessarily time consuming and allowed for the imposition of
\nillegal fees at the customs office.<\/p>\n
Association members also said their imported cotton -- mostly
\nfrom Australia to supply textile industries here -- had already
\nbeen inspected by the Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS)
\noffice and that the exporters had issued phytosanitary reports,
\nwhich guarantee the safety of the material.<\/p>\n
In a statement made available to The Jakarta Post yesterday,
\nthe spinners' association welcomed the government's plan to amend
\nthe decree, saying that the policy was a show of goodwill toward
\nthe private sector on the part of the government.<\/p>\n
Wisnu said the disputed 1983 decree was the only regulation
\nissued by the health ministry which had not been updated to
\naccommodate public demand. (pwn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/regulation-on-dangerous-substances-to-be-revised-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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