House acts for Pertamina, not people: Expert
House acts for Pertamina, not people: Expert
JAKARTA (JP): Many members of the House of Representatives
(DPR) who foiled the passage of the government-sponsored oil and
gas bill this week were acting on behalf of state oil company
Pertamina, a noted oil and gas analyst said on Friday.
"They did not speak on behalf of the people but of Pertamina,"
Sumarno Dipodisastro, a former aide to Pertamina's chief
executive officer, told reporters.
Sumarno said there were strong indications that House members
were bent on slowing down the deliberation or on preventing the
passage of the bill so that Pertamina could retain its privileges
in awarding lucrative oil and gas contracts.
After going through a lengthy and heated deliberation, House
Commission V for industry, mines and energy approved the draft of
the bill.
The House was originally expected to endorse the bill on
Monday, but some legislators foiled the plan by demanding a new
deliberation on six items in the bill. The House is now scheduled
to give a final reading of the bill on Sept. 6.
Fresh objections were raised particularly about the way oil
and gas contracts would be awarded in the future and the seven-
year transition period given to Pertamina before it loses its
monopoly privileges and will have to compete with multinationals.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy, which drafted the bill, has
faced strong opposition from Pertamina over its proposal that the
right to award contracts be taken over from the state oil
monopoly to the ministry.
Pertamina, which awards production-sharing contracts to
foreign oil companies, will in the future have to compete for
bids against giant multinationals.
Some legislators have strongly argued that Pertamina's
privileges must be retained.
Minister Kuntoro Mangkusubroto told Antara that the government
would not change its position on the present draft in spite of
the new deliberation.
Sumarno, now an aide to Kuntoro in the latter's position as
Pertamina's chief commissioner, noted that legislators were not
as rigorous in pursuing the report of US$6.1 billion graft in the
oil company as they were with the $80 million scandal at Bank
Bali.
"They (legislators) did not follow up the
PricewaterhouseCoopers' report (of graft at Pertamina). But with
Bank Bali, which involves a much lesser amount, they are pursuing
the matter. What is going on?" he said.
Sumarno said that for Pertamina to become a world-class
company, it must be run on strict business practices. It must
cease its role as a milch cow for the ruling elite. (02)