MIND ID Chief Reveals Cause of PT Timah Office Arson in Belitung

The Chief Executive of the mining industry holding company MIND ID, Maroef Sjamsoeddin, has revealed the cause of the arson attack on PT Timah Tbk’s office in Belitung, which took place on 7 August 2026.

According to him, the incident was triggered in part by social unrest caused by PT Timah’s failure to pay mining service fees owed to local communities.

“As you are aware, on 7 August 2026 an incident occurred in which PT Timah Tbk’s office in Belitung was set on fire. This incident was triggered in part by social unrest caused by the non-payment of mining service fees from PT Timah Persero Tbk to the community,” Maroef said during a hearing with Commission XII of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) on Tuesday (15/9/2026).

Maroef said this occurred because PT Timah’s Work Plan and Budget (RKAB) quota for the Belitung area had been fully used up, while mining service activities continued on the other side.

To resolve the issue, MIND ID and PT Timah Tbk coordinated with various parties, including the government and local communities.

The government subsequently issued Presidential Regulation Number 79 of 2026, which serves as the legal basis for PT Timah to improve tin mining governance in Belitung.

Maroef explained that the new regulation contains a number of provisions, including one on improving governance of PT Timah’s mining business permit area (WIUP).

In addition, the regulation sets a timeline for accelerating governance improvements, provisions on sourcing tin commodities from outside PT Timah’s mining business permit area, and provisions on production above the RKAB quota, specifically for the Belitung region while the governance improvement process is under way.

“Through these efforts, tin commodity operations will be conducted on the basis of sound regulations and governance, making it a business activity whose benefits can be felt more widely,” he said.