Sudirman Said - JP/Jerry Adiguna

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said defended on Tuesday his stance that former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had turned a blind eye to mafia-like practices in the oil and gas sector during his two terms, arguing that it was a result of his observations of the problems plaguing the sector.

On his Twitter and Facebook accounts on Monday night, Yudhoyono slammed Sudirman for accusing him of refusing to liquidate Pertamina Energy Trading Ltd. (Petral) when he was in power.

The government recently decided to liquidate Petral, a unit of state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, after it found that Petral had caused state losses. In his effort to crack down on cartel-like operations in the sector, President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo also recently ordered a comprehensive audit of Petral by independent auditors.

Sudirman said that he was merely carrying out a mandate to reform the energy and mining sector and therefore always took the opportunity to communicate with others to find the best ways to make the sector more transparent, accountable and efficient.

'€œRegarding the management of oil and gas in the past, I believe those who ran oil and gas [sector], the government and various stakeholders fully understood the condition,'€ he said at the State Palace, adding that he was pleased that a previous public discussion with Faisal Basri, a former head of the reform team for the oil and gas sector, was met with a wide response and helped many understand the actual problem.

'€œIn connection with Petral and other things, I believe there is no big or important decision that does not involve the highest leadership of the country,'€ he said.

Sudirman added that he had merely done what the previous government should have done in the first place.

'€œPlease don'€™t blow [the controversy] out of proportion because what we are doing is merely something that should have been carried out a long time ago, and not just in regard to Petral but also on exploration, SKKMigas [Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force] and matters related to gas.'€

Yudhoyono wrote on his social media accounts that he was astounded by Sudirman'€™s statement, which was quoted by an online media outlet as saying that the fight against the oil and gas cabal stopped at Yudhoyono'€™s desk, a remark the former president deemed as attacking and discrediting him while he was in office.

Yudhoyono also denied the allegation, emphasizing that he was serious about fighting the oil and gas cabal during his presidency.

'€œI ran my government in an orderly fashion. Serious issues, such as having to do with the [so-called] oil and gas mafia, I will certainly respond to. It is impossible that it stopped at my desk,'€ he wrote on his Twitter account.

He also said no recommendation on liquidating Petral had reached his desk and that he had set up a task force to eliminate the so-called mafia.

It'€™s not the first time Yudhoyono has taken to social media to make remarks that many have deemed as efforts to defend his administration.

In January, Yudhoyono posted on his Facebook account that he had heard rumors and '€œprovocation'€ that could destroy the ties between him and Jokowi following public criticism of Jokowi'€™s pick for police chief, Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan.

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) member Hendrawan Supratikno alleged that Sudirman'€™s move to point at Yudhoyono'€™s efforts to hamper attempts to root out mafia-like practices in the oil and gas sector had been politicized with an aim to weaken Jokowi.

Hendrawan said that the PDI-P had also disagreed with the dissolution of Petral, but slammed '€œexcessive'€ criticism toward Sudirman for raising the issue. '€œIt seems that the good ties that Pak Jokowi is building with leaders of various political parties, including Pak SBY, has made certain parties unhappy.'€

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