Mining companies deny paying lawmakers to get law passed
Mining companies deny paying lawmakers to get law passed
Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
State mining companies PT Aneka Tambang (Antam), PT Tambang
Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA) and PT Timah denied a media report
that they were asked to pay Rp 7 billion (US$700,000) to ensure
the House of Representatives passed a bill on mineral and coal
mining.
Suara Pembaruan afternoon daily, citing an anonymous source,
reported on Wednesday the state mining companies had collected Rp
3 billion for the House special committee formed in June to
deliberate the draft law.
"We object to this report, which is entirely untrue," Antam
president director Dedi Aditya Sumanagara said at a press
conference on Thursday. Timah president director Thobrani Alwi
and PTBA president director Ismet Harmaini also attended the
conference.
"We will take action according to the law," said Dedi, adding
that the report damaged the reputations of the publicly listed
companies.
The report also claimed that private mining companies refused
to pay to have the law passed because they feared the law would
hamper mining activities.
The chairman of the House special committee deliberating the
law, Agusman Effendi, also denied the committee had asked for
money from the mining companies.
"We have our own budget," said Agusman, who also chairs House
Commission VII on energy and mining. He said all of the members
of the special committee had denied requesting money.
The mining bill committee is comprised of 50 members,
including 12 from the Golkar Party faction, 10 from the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction and four
from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) faction.
The proposed law on mining would replace a law that was
enacted 28 years ago and would introduce several significant
changes. The new law would incorporate the role of local
administrations in issuing licenses subsequent to the
implementation of the regional autonomy law.
An article in the draft law also stipulates that all mining
companies holding operating and production licenses must process
part of their output domestically.