Norman Harsono, Jakarta – A watchdog coalition has called for the government to delay passing a mining government regulation (PP) until after the Constitutional Court (MK) makes a key decision on the 2020 Mining Law, which lays a legal basis for the regulation.
The eight-member Clean Indonesia Coalition argued that the government's efforts to pass the regulation would "all go to waste" should the court nullify the mining law, deliberations of which are still ongoing in Jakarta.
"They focus on economic infrastructure but ignore democratic infrastructure. They did not even consider the court process when drafting the regulation," said coalition spokesman Arip "Yogi" Yogiawan, who also works for the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), on Tuesday.
The government regulation on mining activity is the nearest to completion among three similar regulations being drafted by the Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Ministry in realizing the recently passed, controversial 2020 Coal and Mineral Mining Law.
Energy Ministry mining director general Ridwan Djamalludin first spoke about the three regulations on Aug. 27, by which time the regulation on mining activity was being discussed between ministries. The others were still being discussed internally.
"The energy minister wants these done before the end of the year," he told lawmakers at a House of Representatives hearing in Jakarta.
The regulation on mining activity addresses, among others issues, giant coal miners whose mining permits – legally called "contracts" (PKP2B) – are slated to expire between November 2020 and April 2025, depending on the individual company.