Zulhas: Natural Resources Must Be Controlled by the State, Not Private Interests

Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan (Zulhas) has emphasised that the state must reclaim control over the management of natural resources, asserting that they should not be dominated by certain private parties. Speaking at the VIII Indonesian Muslim Congress (KUII) in Jakarta, Zulhas stated that while entrepreneurs may be involved, the authority to regulate and distribute the benefits of natural resources must remain firmly in the hands of the government, in accordance with Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution. “Entrepreneurs can be involved, but the one who divides the benefits is the government, the state,” he said. Zulhas highlighted that this principle is being straightened out under President Prabowo Subianto’s administration. He pointed to past practices where resource wealth was excessively controlled by private entities through regional licensing, spanning sectors from gold, nickel, and coal mining to tin and bauxite. The minister warned of potential state revenue leakage through data manipulation, citing discrepancies between actual export values and reported figures. “They sell for 20,000, but report 10,000 here. That is a moral hazard,” he explained, noting that such practices could also occur in the palm oil sector. Zulhas also mentioned past efforts to crack down on illegal mining in Bangka Belitung and illegal palm oil plantations in North Sumatra, acknowledging the difficulty due to strong networks and vested interests. He claimed the current government’s enforcement actions have led to the state taking control of around four million hectares of illegal plantations. Furthermore, he highlighted the implementation of a single-window export-import system (DSI), which he said has already yielded nearly USD 20 billion in foreign exchange reserves within just two months, a significant increase from the previous USD 3-4 billion.