Natural Resource Governance Must Deliver Optimal Benefits to the State and the People

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com — Ahmad Labib, a member of Commission VI of the House of Representatives, urged that Indonesia’s natural resources (SDA) be managed to deliver optimal benefits to the state and the people. He said this in response to the government’s decision to create a dedicated export state-owned enterprise named PT Danantara Sumber Daya Indonesia. ‘Most importantly is how the state can be present through an export state-owned enterprise to strengthen natural resource governance in a more strategic, transparent way, and in favour of national interests, so that Indonesia’s natural wealth can yield more optimal economic benefits for the state and people,’ Labib said in a statement, quoted on Thursday (21 May 2026). The establishment of a dedicated export state-owned enterprise is seen as a strategic step by the government to strengthen governance of the trade in natural resource commodities in Indonesia. ‘The presence of a state company that functions as both aggregator and manager of strategically important natural resource export trade is expected to drive the realisation of greater gains in global trade for the state’s revenue,’ Labib added. To date, there have been a number of issues facing Indonesia in the governance of exports of strategic commodities. These range from underpricing practices, weak control over international trade chains, leakage of export proceeds, to Indonesia’s low bargaining power in global markets. ‘The establishment of the export SOE under Danantara could be one of the strategic steps to reinforce the national trading system,’ Labib said. He hopes the export-focused SOE can develop into a state-owned company that concentrates on strengthening the governance of Indonesia’s strategic commodity export trade. Through the one-gate export mechanism, exports of several commodities such as coal, crude palm oil (CPO), nickel, and ferro-alloys are expected to operate within a more integrated and coordinated national trading system. Moreover, this model is expected to curb price manipulation practices that have long harmed the state. Under this system, the state would have greater control over trade flows and the foreign exchange earned from exports.