Golkar Party Faction in MPR RI Declares Support for Single-Door Export Policy
The Chairman of the Golkar Party Faction (FPG) of the MPR RI, Melchotias Markus Mekeng, stated that their support is based on several constitutional foundations. Firstly, he cited the fourth paragraph of the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution, which mandates that the state’s objective is to promote general welfare and realise social justice. Mekeng emphasised that all national economic policies must be measured by whether they increase public welfare and social justice, ensuring that natural resource export policies do not merely maximise corporate profits but ensure maximum benefits for all Indonesians.
Secondly, Mekeng referenced Article 33, paragraphs 2 and 3 of the 1945 Constitution, which stipulate that branches of production important to the state and affecting the lives of many must be controlled by the state, and that the earth, water, and the natural wealth contained within them are controlled by the state for the greatest prosperity of the people. He noted that because the commodities targeted by the single-door export policy—including nickel, coal, palm oil, and strategic minerals—are part of the national natural wealth, the policy possesses a strong constitutional basis.
The third constitutional reason cited was MPR Decree (TAP MPR) Number XVI/MPR RI/1998 regarding economic politics within the framework of economic democracy. This decree emphasises that national economic development must prioritise the interests of the many and prevent the concentration of economic power. Mekeng stated that the faction aims to address the issue of economic inequality, where a small percentage of the population holds disproportionate wealth. He expressed full support for President Prabowo’s initiative to restructure national economic control.
Finally, the faction pointed to the Constitutional Court (MK) Decision Number 001-021-022/PUU-I/2003 regarding the judicial review of the Oil and Gas Law as a further legal foundation for such state control.