Newmont divestment ‘a political issue’

The House of Representatives’ insistence to be involved in the government’s shares purchase of gold miner PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara has brought the divestment plan into a whole new dimension that includes political interests, Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo says.

“If the House decides for [the government] to seek its approval, it has entered a political course. We do not want to respond concerning a certain businessperson because we respect [them]. It is normal if businesspeople want to do business,” Agus told a press conference at his office Tuesday.

The Newmont fiasco heated up as the Finance Ministry went ahead with the purchase of a 7-percent Newmont stake, which the House’s Commission XI deemed unlawful because funds from state investment agency PIP are earmarked for infrastructure investment and the ministry did not ask for House approval on the acquisition.

Instead, the House advised for the shares to be absorbed by the West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) provincial administration, which currently owns 24 percent stake in Newmont through a joint venture with Multicapital, a business unit of mining giant Bumi Resources, owned by Aburizal Bakrie who is also chairman of the Golkar Party.

NTB Governor Zainul Majdi, however, said the provincial administration would seek an investor to back its move and show the public that there are no Bakrie Group interests in its plan, as the government’s purchase is considered not yet final without approval from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).

Agus urged the related ministries to sign the approvals as soon as possible to finalize the deal.

The PIP signed a US$246.8 million sale and purchase agreement with Newmont’s shareholders on May 6 and has sent approval letters to the related ministries since May 9 but has not received a reply yet.

The minister also said if House members remained adamant on their stance in the Newmont issue, he would step down or bring the case to the high court.

Agus invited Tuesday leaders of the nation’s schools of law from eight universities to prove his point that the share purchase has been done accordingly.

The eight law experts are from Padjadjaran University and Parahyangan Catholic University in Bandung, North Sumatra University in Medan, Andalas University in Padang, Sriwijaya University, Diponegoro University in Semarang, Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta and Trisakti University in Jakarta.

Claiming that they speak independently after a scientific legal assessment on the case, all academicians agreed that the share purchase followed through related legal grounds including laws on state treasury and state finance, the 1945 Constitution’s Article 33 on state wealth and the 1986 mining contract, which specifically regulates the Newmont divestment process.

“Indonesia is a country based on the rule of law. All government policies must be taken based on the nation’s legal grounds, not political situation and rule at the time being. If the political situation changes, the country will be in trouble,” said Yos Johan Utama, the faculty law dean at Diponegoro University.