Plantation bill deliberation to start soon

Leony Aurora , The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government is ready to start discussing the controversial plantation bill with the House of Representatives later this month, according to a senior legislator.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri has sent a letter confirming the government's readiness and has appointed the Minister of Agriculture to represent the government in debating the bill, said SM Tampubolon, a member of House Commission III for plantation, agriculture and fisheries, which is tasked with the deliberation.

The minister will come to the House in a week or two to convey the government's views on the bill, said Tampubolon on Thursday.

"We hope that by May or June, the deliberation will be completed and the bill endorsed," he added.

The plantation bill, which was written at the House's initiative, has apparently come under fire from all stakeholders since its announcement in 2002.

The bill states that the maximum and minimum area of land for plantations is to be determined by the minister.

"This will be regulated based on the potential of each province," said Tampubolon.

Economic analyst Lin Che Wei pointed out that there was already a regulation, Ministerial Decree No. 357/2002, which regulated the maximum area of plantations at 20,000 hectares in a province, or 100,000 hectares throughout Indonesia.

"Under the transitional stipulation in the bill, the decree will remain in effect," said Che Wei, director of consulting firm Independent Research Advisory.

It would be difficult for plantation companies to manage land spread all over the country, he said.

Another controversy involves the chapter on concession periods. While plantation companies say that a 35-year concession period -- renewable for another 25 years with the minister's approval -- is too short, several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) claim the period was too long and would make plantation companies practically owners, not just users of the land.

In comparison, concession periods are 90 years in both China and Malaysia.

Farmers are wary of a chapter that prohibits any actions that might disrupt plantation activities. The reclaiming of land by local communities can be regarded as such, and would be punishable by five years imprisonment and a Rp 5 billion (US$588,235) fine if the bill is passed.

Data provided by NGOs show that 1,000 land disputes between plantation owners and farmers were raised between 1998 and 2002.

Che Wei questioned whether deliberations on the bill would be completed during the current session, which will end soon.

"We want an ideal plantation law. If that can't be achieved now, deliberations should roll over into the next session," he said.