Govt's move over Paiton regretted
JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives and the People's Consultative Assembly expressed regret on Tuesday over the government's decision to drop the lawsuit against independent power producer (IPP) PT Paiton Energy.
House Speaker Akbar Tandjung said the House would summon the government to clarify its decision and the subsequent resignations of state-owned electricity company PT PLN president Adhi Satriya and planning director Hardiv Situmeang.
The two PLN executives tendered their resignations to protest the government's decision to drop the lawsuit.
Akbar praised Adhi for his efforts to root out traces of corruption, collusion and nepotism in the power purchase agreement (PPA) awarded to Paiton.
"The legal process is necessary to free PLN from traces of KKN," Akbar said, using the acronym for corruption, collusion and nepotism.
He said the government should immediately choose a replacement for Adhi and take measures to resolve PLN's dispute with other IPPs.
Separately, Amien Rais, the speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly, said he suspected foreign powers were behind the resignations of the PLN executives.
"Indonesia must reject any foreign powers dictating the country's economic, social and political policies.
"We don't want any Indonesian to serve foreigners at the expense of national interests," Amien said.
Adhi and Hardiv announced on Monday they were tendering their resignations to protest the government's decision to drop the lawsuit PLN had filed in the Central Jakarta District Court against Paiton.
The lawsuit was filed in October of this year to annul the PPA which was awarded by PLN's former management to Paiton in 1994. The suit claimed the contract contained elements of corruption and the price of the power supplies from the company was too high.
Adhi and Hardiv's resignations come just as the two were beginning to enjoy some success in leading PLN in its legal battle against Paiton. The Central Jakarta court recently issued two rulings in favor of PLN.
Meanwhile, House Commission VIII for mines and energy plans to form a special committee to investigate the dispute between PLN and its IPPs.
Commission chairman Irwan Prayitno said the committee would examine PLN's contracts with the IPPs, which he said showed strong indications of corruption.
"We'll try to get to the root of the dispute between PLN and the IPPs before advising the government on its plan to negotiate with the IPPs," Irwan said during a media briefing.
President Abdurrahman Wahid issued a decree on Saturday which outlined the formation of a team to resolve PLN's disputes with the IPPs.
Adhi repeated on Tuesday his suspicion that the government had been pressured by the government of the United States to drop the lawsuit against Paiton.
Adhi said the decision to drop the suit was not transparent, adding that he did not foresee the government obtaining any concessions from Paiton in return for its move.
Paiton Energy is owned by Japan's Mitsui, General Electric of the United States and local company PT Bukit Hitam Perkasa. It has constructed a US$2.5 billion power plant in Probolinggo, East Java.
Meanwhile, Paiton welcomed the government's announcement it was dropping PLN's lawsuit, adding that it was looking forward to future discussions with the government.
"Paiton understands that the government of Indonesia has announced its intention to become directly involved in the efforts to resolve the contractual issues with all IPPs," a press release from Paiton said. (03)