T

he Constitutional Court’s decision to liquidate upstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas has sparked a great deal of controversy but has also raised the hope for a brand new efficient system, able to fulfill domestic needs for oil and gas and to boost the country’s income from the hydrocarbon industry.

Critics have likened the BPMigas dissolvement to efforts to “kill the rats by burning the barn” but advocates can’t stop praising the court’s ruling, which basically intends to ensure state control of natural resources for the welfare of the people, as the Constitution dictates.

The judicial review was petitioned by a host of respected individuals, such as Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsudin, academic Komaruddin Hidayat, mining observer Kurtubi and politician Fahmi Idris, over concerns that BPMigas was operating against the spirit of the Constitution.

Of particular concern was BPMigas’ sweeping powers in seeking profit-sharing contracts of oil and gas projects with foreign investors who had the licenses to control oil and gas reserves for many years and pocket most of the money. This is the point on which the court and the petitioners agreed that the law did not meet the Constitution’s mandate.

Since it became operational following the passage of the 2001 Oil and Gas Law, BPMigas had sealed 353 contracts with foreign companies. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has assured companies that the liquidation will in no way affect those contracts.

Until a new law on oil and gas is drafted to replace the annulled 2001 law, BPMigas is being put under the auspices of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, in accordance with the Constitutional Court’s directive.

BPMigas was established to maximize efficiency by separating powers between those regulating the oil and gas industry from those executing the business. In the past, all the power was in the grip of Pertamina which, as we know, was so corrupt that it brought the state to the brink of financial collapse.

However, hoping that a new law will fix the problem is too naïve. As we all know, Indonesia boasts excellent laws but the problem lies in the fact that they are not properly enforced. Corruption is the core of the problem and that needs to be solved in the first place.

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The fight against corruption has received another round of ammunition. This time, the boost has come from Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam, one of the President’s men who now and again has dropped a bombshell and set the country alight with controversial statements.

In his latest salvo, Dipo has submitted allegations of corruption at three ministries to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). In addition, he has reported a lawmaker to the commission for an alleged conspiracy to misuse state budget funds with ministry officials.

Dipo would disclose neither the names of the ministries nor the lawmaker involved but said that employees of the ministries had tipped him off about rampant corruption involving a conspiracy between government bureaucrats and lawmakers and, therefore, he trusted its credibility.

Dipo stepped into the fray that had been created by State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan who reported six lawmakers to the House of Representatives’ ethics council for allegedly extorting funds from state-owned companies. Unlike Dipo, Dahlan stopped short of filing a report with the KPK.

Dipo claimed he also possessed the names of lawmakers who allegedly conspired with government bureaucrats to steal from the state coffers. Predictably, Dipo’s allegations have met angry denials from some lawmakers, who also demand that he come forward with evidence.

The courage to point to political corruption and conspiracy in high places, as Dahlan and Dipo have done, should encourage honest bureaucrats to become whistle blowers. It is also creating momentum for the Yudhoyono administration to reform this government’s corrupt bureaucracy.

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It seems that the regional minimum wage remains a thorny issue in Jakarta and it will likely be a headache for new Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

Bad signs emanated on Thursday when representatives from the Jakarta Remuneration Board clashed over a proposed 44 percent increase in the minimum wage to Rp 2,216,243 (US$230) a month next year from Rp 1.53 million this year.

The board was split between those in favor of the hike, such as government bureaucrats, and those against, namely the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).

Advocates, particularly workers, already see the proposal as a “victory” for the labor struggle. “We have decided that the city’s minimum wage will be Rp 2.22 million, higher than the basic cost of living of Rp 1.97 million,” said board chairman Deded Sukanda, to the delight of workers waiting outside the meeting hall.

However, the business representatives rejected it there and then. One Apindo board member, Sarman Simanjorang, said, “The decision made tonight was baseless. The numbers used were not in the methodology set by the government itself.”

Deputy Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama lauded the decision, but Jokowi cautiously said he was yet to review the proposal.

Whatever Jokowi’s decision is, it will become the benchmark for other provinces. Meanwhile, tensions between workers and employers are still far from being resolved.

– Pandaya