Samsung cleared by environmental agency
Samsung cleared by environmental agency
JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja disclosed yesterday that PT Cheil Samsung Indonesia in Pasuruan, East Java, was officially cleared of charges of polluting a nearby river as recently as Nov. 9.
The company, which produces monosodium glutamate, shut down indefinitely beginning last week because of violent actions by farmers who accused it of polluting their fish and shrimp ponds. Police said 63 people were arrested for rioting over the weekend.
Yesterday, Sarwono reported the incidents to President Soeharto, who inaugurated the $87.7 million Cheil Samsung plant in 1989.
Sarwono explained that the company voluntarily requested environmental auditing by various government agencies. The most recent study was done by the Environmental Impact Management Agency.
None of the studies found any irregularities in the way the plant discharged its waste, Sarwono said.
He has sent another team to check whether there have been any changes since the last study, and to detect the origins of the waste polluting the farmers' ponds.
"Let's wait for the results of the new field study," he said.
Sarwono pointed out that the East Java provincial administration ranks the best in managing the nation's ongoing river clean-up projects.
He said he suspected that the quality of water in Pasuruan, as in most other areas along the northern coast of Java, is poor. He speculated that the pollution could have originated either from industry, households or agriculture.
The minister also called for a thorough investigation into the violent rampage, specially in view of the fact that the rioting was not done by the local people, but by people from out of town, including "college people" from Malang.
"I have no more comment, other than that there has got to be a full investigation so that the government and the people know that the brutal and destructive actions were carried out by people who have their own agenda," he said.
Representatives of the Samsung Group, a giant Korean conglomerate, denied yesterday having any relations with Cheil Samsung Indonesia, saying that it divested all of its equity in the company following management restructuring in 1992.
"Samsung Group is not responsible for the management and operations of PT Cheil Samsung Indonesia, which in the recent days has been the subject of public demonstration in Pasuruan," Samsung's Asia headquarters in Singapore, announced.
Cheil Foods and Chemicals was a subsidiary of Samsung when the Pasuruan plant was established in 1989, but the 1992 restructuring led to their separation. (emb)