T

he plot has thickened in the ongoing controversy surrounding mining giant Freeport as Fadli Zon, deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, has proposed the House set up a special committee to probe alleged irregularities within the gold and copper mining firm.

Fadli'€™s statement followed a recent case involving House Speaker Setya Novanto who allegedly pushed his personal agenda in talks with PT Freeport Indonesia president director Maroef Sjamsuddin and business tycoon Reza Chalid.

Fadli, who is also deputy chairman of the Gerindra Party, said on Saturday that the controversy was merely the tip of the iceberg of problems surrounding Freeport'€™s operations in Papua.

'€œFreeport'€™s existence [in Indonesia] does not only concern mining activities, but there are many political implications. With this special committee, we will be able to see exactly who is involved in Freeport. We will also be able to see how much the state should receive [from Freeport'€™s operations] because many have said that we have received too little all this time,'€ he said.

Fadli said Freeport'€™s operations, among the largest in the world, had not benefited local communities in the region, let alone the rest of the country.

Freeport was thrust into the spotlight recently following a report filed by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said with the House'€™s ethics council (MKD), alleging that Setya had claimed to have approval from President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla to accept shares from Freeport in exchange for the government'€™s assurance that it would grant a contract extension for Freeport'€™s mining operations after the current contract expires in 2021.

A copy of a recording of the conversation, which took place on June 8, was also submitted to the ethics council.

Fadli said he understood Freeport might have pursued such talks to maintain its existence in Papua even though Government Regulation (PP) No. 77/2014, which revises PP No. 23/2010 on mineral and coal mining businesses, dictates that an extension request can only be submitted to the government a maximum of two years and a minimum of six months before a contract is due to expire.

'€œHowever, we are a lawful country and must abide by existing regulations,'€ he said.

National Mandate Party (PAN) lawmaker Yandri Susanto backed Fadli'€™s proposal for setting up a special committee to investigate the mining giant.

'€œThe quicker we set up the committee, the better. It will help us discover whether or not there have been conspiracies, markups, pollution and other issues [related to Freeport]. We will uncover everything,'€ he said.

The House earlier formed a similar committee to launch a probe on state-owned port operator Pelindo II, following allegations of graft involving its executive RJ Lino.

Paramadina University political expert Herdi Sahrasad, however, urged the House to focus on the current council hearings to decide whether Setya'€™s actions should be deemed a breach of ethics.

Herdi said the House'€™s reputation hinged on whether the council members took the hearings seriously.

'€œAll political parties must agree to continue with the MKD hearings because the public is currently paying close attention. The Freeport conspiracy issue is also a priority, but Setya'€™s [ethics hearing] must reach its conclusion,'€ he said, adding the ethics council must also commit to holding transparent hearings.

Herdi said a special committee on Freeport would be ineffective if the council hearings turned out to be only a ruse.

The council is also scheduled to hear testimony from Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan when the hearings resume on Monday.
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