Golkar Deputy Chairman Claims Campus Management of Mines Boosts Education Quality

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Deputy Chairman of the Party's Central Leadership Council, Tandjung, hopes that for universities, managing mines can solve the budget problems commonly faced by campuses. Doli wants the management of mines by campuses to also encourage the quality of educational institutions.

"If universities have sufficient budget support, God willing, the development of universities will be faster," said Doli, Deputy Chair of the Legislation Committee of the House of Representatives, in a written message on Wednesday evening, January 22, 2025. "Of course, we hope that in the future, Indonesian people's quality will also be higher."

The Legislative Body of the House of Representatives approved drafting the Mineral and Coal Bill or  RUU Minerba to become the House's initiative proposal on Monday, January 20, 2025. The bill on the Fourth Amendment to Law Number 4 of 2009 contains provisions for granting Mining Business License Areas (WIUP) by auction or priority to business entities, cooperatives, individual companies, community organizations, and universities.  

One of the reasons for revising the Minerba Law is to accommodate a government regulation previously issued by the 7th president, Joko Widodo. Jokowi issued Government Regulation (PP) Number 25 of 2024 at the end of May 2024. The PP adds provisions for granting special mining business permit areas (WIUPK) to religious mass organizations (CSOs). The House of Representatives is scheduled to hold a plenary session this afternoon, with the main agenda being the ratification of the Revised Mining Law, which has gone through discussions in Baleg.

Responding to the revision of the Minerba Law, Doli said the plan was a commitment to affirmative action by the state or government towards the people's interests. He claimed the revision or addition of articles in the law mostly regulates how community groups representing the Indonesian people can get involved and benefit from managing Indonesia's natural resources.

Doli said that if previously the government had decided that religious mass organizations were allowed to be involved in managing mineral resource concessions through a Government Regulation, then the policy was to be emphasized and strengthened again at the level of the law. "If religious organizations are economically strong, it is hoped that the ummah and its congregation can also get economic benefits," said Doli.

Constitutional Law expert from Gajah Mada University Herlambang Perdana Wiratraman criticized the government's proposal to grant mining business licenses to universities. According to him, the proposal in revising the Mineral and Coal Law (Minerba) is a form of failure in managing the country. "This shows that the state is incompetent in managing education. That's not the way," Herlambang told Tempo on Wednesday, January 22, 2025.

The UGM lecturer who is also a human rights researcher said that mining management has always had a negative impact on the . Therefore, according to him, mining cannot be considered a necessity in the world of education. "How do you want to believe? So far there has been no track record of mining protecting the environment or protecting humans," he said.

Dean of the Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering at the Bandung Institute of Technology or FTTM ITB, Ridho Kresna Wattimena also responded to the proposal. He said the campus has technical capabilities such as designing and running mines. However, he said the campus would have difficulty with funding. "What we need to be careful of is funding, where will the money come from, if the campus does not have money," he told Tempo, Wednesday, January 22, 2025.

According to the professor in the Mining Engineering Expertise Group of FTTM ITB, the mining business is relatively difficult because there are many influencing factors. An example is related to fluctuations in the price of mining commodities that are influenced by supply and demand, such as coal. "Can the campus company survive the conditions if 3-4 years the price of mining commodities continues to fall, for example," said Ridho.

He said that as long as human civilization needs mining materials, the mining business is still promising. The problem, he said, is related to efforts to maintain and sustain the mining business from price fluctuations or political changes that occur. According to Ridho, as long as mining companies can apply the rules of Good Mining Practice, their business can be sustainable.

The mining location that can be managed by the campus is if the land data is complete. Such as a mining area that was previously managed by a company but was not running and then taken by the government. The completeness of the data, such as the amount of mining material deposits, and the metal content is known, so that design and mining can be carried out. "The campus should no longer be burdened from the start, conducting general investigations, having to drill, and others," he said.

Suppose it has to be from the beginning on new mining land, according to Ridho. In that case, exploration must be carried out such as research, planning, feasibility studies, making environmental impact analysis permits. The exploration time ranges from 5-10 years and the results can be less than expected. Regarding the human resources of campus-owned mining companies, lecturers can be involved as supervisors or advisors and alumni as workers.

However, there are other shortcomings of the campus if they want to get involved in managing the mine. "Campus business experience is arguably very minimal," said Ridho. Therefore, universities must first learn the mining business, for example by imitating that are already running well. "From the business aspect, the risks, and making money is what we don't have yet."

Anwar Siswadi contributed to the writing of this article.

DANIEL AHMAD FAJRI | EKO ARI WIBOWO

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