Commission VI urges mining SOEs to involve cooperatives to address illegal mining

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Commission VI of the Indonesian House of Representatives has urged state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the mining sector to involve cooperatives, including the Merah Putih Village Cooperative, in their business activities within operational areas to tackle illegal or wild mining practices.

The request was conveyed by Deputy Chairman of Commission VI, Nurdin Halid, during a hearing with the CEOs of PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum), PT Aneka Tambang (Antam), PT Bukit Asam (PTBA), and PT Timah in Jakarta on Tuesday.

He views the involvement of cooperatives as a strategic step to legalise the activities of small-scale miners while breaking the chain of capitalists or backers who have exploited illegal miners.

Nurdin emphasised that these four mining SOEs are obligated to support the President’s programme on strengthening cooperatives, including the priority Merah Putih Village Cooperative programme.

“PT Timah has already implemented a partnership scheme with cooperatives, and this deserves appreciation,” he stated.

Nevertheless, he noted that to date, there is no roadmap for cooperative involvement from the other mining SOEs.

In his view, the cooperative approach is believed to address the practices of backers who enrich themselves by exploiting illegal miners, while providing legal certainty for small-scale miners.