Syakirun Ni'am, Ardito Ramadhan, Jakarta – The Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam) believes that the planned revisions to the Mineral and Coal Mining Law (UU Minerba) are a major gateway for the expansion of the mining industry, marked by the issue of guarantees there will be no changes to spatial planning and giving out mining concessions to tertiary institutions.
Jatam Coordinator Melky Nahar stated that the revisions to the Minerba Law will only benefit the interests of the elite and ignore affected residents.
"Moreover, 61 percent of DPR [House of Representatives] members are affiliated with businesses, and around 70 percent of members of the Red and White Cabinet also come from business backgrounds", said Melky when contacted by Kompas.com on Friday January 24.
Meanwhile the potential for mining industry expansion will grow at the same time the DPR continues to maintain the existence of Article 162 in the Minerba Law which has the potential to criminalise affected residents.
In addition to this, Jatam also does not see any efforts by the DPR to encourage law enforcement against environmental crimes committed by mining companies.
Reflecting on this, Nahar sees that incidents such as the seizure of people's living space, conflicts between communities and mining companies, loss of life due to abandoned mining pits, disruption to people's health and pollution of water sources and the sea, are not receiving the attention of the DPR or the government.
"It is not seen as a serious problem by the political elite in parliament and the Palace", said Nahar.
At the same time, the DPR and the government are also seen as trying to sterilise the critical power of universities by giving out mining concessions to tertiary institutions.
In such a situation, universities will only become parties that legitimise the policies of those in power. "This can be read as an attempt to co-opt campuses, so they lose their critical power", said Nahar.
Earlier, the DPR proposed that tertiary institutions be given priority to obtain Mining Business Permit Areas (WIUP). The DPR member's proposal was included in the Draft Law on Mineral and Coal Mining (RUU Minerba) which was approved as a DPR initiative bill on Thursday January 23.
Article 2 of the draft law explains a number of grounds for granting WIUP to tertiary institutions including, among others, accredited tertiary instruction status, increasing access and public education services and the extent of the WIUP for metal minerals or coal.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Revisi UU Minerba Dinilai Untungkan Elite, Abaikan Warga".]
