Govt chips away at autonomy law, takes sand business from Riau
Govt chips away at autonomy law, takes sand business from Riau
Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru
Despite increasing protests, the central government has taken
over the authority from the Riau administration on the issuance
of permits for sand extraction in Riau waters in an attempt to
end the rampant illegal extraction, which is allegedly backed by
unauthorized military personnel.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri issued Presidential Decree
No. 33 on May 23, 2002, regulating that all sand extraction
activities would require permits from the central government via
the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
The issuance of the presidential decree followed the recent
visit of Minister of Industry and Trade Rini Soewandi and Army
Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto to the province.
The issue of rampant, illegal sand extraction that involved
local businessmen and an international syndicate came to a head
following local non-governmental organizations' complaints about
the environmental deterioration of the seabed.
All sand extracted, both legally and illegally, from the
waters is apparently sold to Singapore at a low price. Singapore
needs the sand for its coastal reclamation projects.
The regional administration, both at the provincial and
regency levels, could not control the illegal activity because
the perpetrators were backed by unauthorized Army and Navy
personnel.
The issuance of the presidential decree has raised a
controversy with local businessmen who have angrily criticized
the central government for seemingly being against the regional
autonomy law.
Kapitra, chairman of the Forum for the Handling of Sand
Businessmen's Problems (FP4L), called on the President to annul
the decree which he said was in direct opposition to the regional
autonomy law.
"The presidential decree negates Riau's authority for permit
issuance. The central government cannot, by law, take over the
authority," he said here on Wednesday.
Syamsul Rakan Chaniago, a political expert from Riau
University, acknowledged that the presidential decree was in
conflict with the regional autonomy law but said he was unaware
of the exact legal details as to why the central government took
over the province's authority.
Freddy Simajuntak, secretary of the Riau provincial
legislature's Commission I on mining and security matters, said
he was disappointed with the decree because it was the province's
authority to make policy for sand exports.
"Our commission has proposed to the legislative body to
discuss the matters because it is better to totally ban sand
exports," he said.
Riau Governor Saleh Djasit played down the increasing
protests, saying local businessmen were pretending not to
understand the law or the real problems behind the sand business.
He explained that the presidential decree was issued to
regulate sustainable sand extraction without any deterioration to
the environment. He said it should also empower local people,
especially those living near the areas of operation.
"It is no longer a secret that sand extraction has contributed
almost nothing to the provincial budget and even less to the
local people, not to mention the irreversible damage to the
environment," he said, in a veiled reference to the allegations
that the monetary gains go directly to a few individuals without
being taxed.
Besides, the governor said, the regional autonomy law was not
entirely understood by most people as it is still a new concept.
According to the regional autonomy law, the central government
can take over certain authorities should the province lack
proficiency in a particular field.
Prof. Tabrani Rab, a member of the Regional Autonomy Advisory
Board (DPOD), said he was skeptical of the central government's
ability to control the illegal sand quarrying because most
companies mining illegally in the Riau archipelago belongs to
government officials and a certain elite group.
"The best solution to the problem for the time being is to
continue stopping the sand export and take strict action against
all sides involved in the illegal sand mining and export," he
said.