IMA pledges to be more active in helping members

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Mining Association (IMA) pledged on Thursday it would work to repair the bad image of the country's mining companies.

Association chairman BN Wahyu said in the past the organization had been accused by various international mining companies of not defending them against criticism from the public and environmentalists.

The organization was also criticized for keeping too low a profile in dealing with the government.

Wahyu ascribed the association's "passivity" on the control government officials held over its management since it was establishment in 1975.

"IMA has been muzzled for many years. We now want to become an independent organization," Wahyu said.

He said IMA hired consultancy firm Price Waterhouse to help restructure the organization in 1997.

Based on recommendations from the consultancy firm, the association reshuffled its board in December 1998, transferring leadership from government officials to the executives of mining companies.

In the 1998 meeting, Wahyu, who is director of PT Ingold Management, was chosen to replace director general of geology and mineral resources Darmoko Slamet as association chairman.

Twenty board members -- all mining executives -- were chosen to assist Wahyu.

The association also appointed a nine-strong board of patrons headed by former minister of mines and energy M. Sadli.

IMA recently appointed a government official, Paul Louis Coutrier, an executive director in charge of press and public relations.

Coutrier served for many years at state oil and gas company Pertamina and is a former deputy head of the Environmental Impact Management Body, a position he held from 1990 to 1998.

Wahyu also said the association had launched its IMA-2000 program to improve its organization, including amending its statute and making the election of board members more transparent.

IMA has some 150 members, mostly foreign mining companies from Canada, Australia and the United States. (jsk)