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.