Riani Sanusi Putri, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has spoken up about the allegation that the sea sand export policy is aimed at paving way for Singapore's investment in the new capital city project in East Kalimantan.
Indonesia lifts the 20-year-old ban on sea sand export through Government Regulation No. 26 of 2023 concerning the management of sea sedimentation products.
"There is no relation [between Singapore's investment and sea sand export]," he said when met at the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) office, East Jakarta, Wednesday, June 14, 2023.
The commodity regulated in the PP, he emphasized, is sea sand resulting from sedimentation. The sedimentary sand, according to him, disrupts shipping and the life of coral reefs. On this basis, he considered it necessary to regulate the cleaning up of sedimentation results in the sea.
Jokowi also claimed that the government has been drafting the rules for a long time.
Previously, Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono rebutted the allegation. He dismissed reports that the government reopened the ban for the sake of Singapore's investment in the new capital city or IKN project in East Kalimantan.
"Exports (of sea sand) can be carried out when domestic needs are already met," Sakti said at the Senayan Parliament Complex, on Monday, June 12, 2023.