Some Soeharto-linked firms to keep Pertamina contracts
Some Soeharto-linked firms to keep Pertamina contracts
JAKARTA (JP): State oil and gas company Pertamina said
yesterday it would maintain its contracts with former president
Soeharto-linked contractors and suppliers, provided they were
efficient and the government allowed them to continue their
operations.
The secretary of Pertamina's board of commissioners, Rachmat
Soedibjo, told The Jakarta Post that some Soeharto-linked
companies were run efficiently.
From a technical point of view, he said, such companies
deserved to continue operating.
However, he said, the future of Soeharto-linked companies'
operations within Pertamina was not merely determined by
technical considerations but also by political ones, since there
was a growing demand from the public to reject all businesses
connected to Soeharto.
"What Pertamina thinks technically good can be considered bad
politically. It is thus the minister of mines and energy (Kuntoro
Mangkusubroto), as the company's president commissioner, who will
make a final decision," he said.
Rachmat is also the minister's expert aide for oil and gas
affairs.
Pertamina is currently registering all its contractors and
suppliers linked to Soeharto's family and cronies following the
government's announcement last week to fight collusion,
corruption and nepotism in the company.
Pertamina has been seen for a long time as the country's worst
symbol of nepotism due to the domination of Soeharto's family and
cronies in its operations.
Kuntoro said the government would review all Pertamina's
contracts awarded to politically connected companies in an effort
to improve its efficiency and management.
Pertamina president Soegianto said last week the company had
thus far registered 120 politically connected contractors and
suppliers. The final number could be higher as the listing has
not yet been completed.
He said the list of companies would be further broken down
into efficient and inefficient categories.
Rachmat said that although the companies initially gained
contracts thanks to their political connections, some of them
could work efficiently.
One of them, he said, is the shipment of Pertamina's liquefied
natural gas (LNG) by the publicly listed shipping company PT
Humpuss Intermoda Transportasi, controlled by Soeharto's youngest
son Hutomo Mandala Putra, alias Tommy.
The company's 1997 annual report says the company currently
operates three tankers to ship Pertamina's LNG, including the
world's largest LNG tanker of 78,988 deadweight tons (DWT),
called Darmaputra.
The tanker, which is 95 percent owned by Humpuss and 5 percent
by Japan's Mitsui OSK Lines, was contracted to Pertamina for 20
years until 2010.
Pertamina has also contracted eight Humpuss' tankers to ship
its crude oil to export markets until between 2005 and 2009.
Rachmat did not say if Humpuss also operated efficiently in
shipping Pertamina's crude oil. (jsk)