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SOE minister should be allowed to join hearings again: Lawmaker
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State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno (right) talks to her staff member, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, before a press conference after a Cabinet meeting at the Presidential office. (Antara/Widodo S. Jusuf)
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lawmaker has voiced concern about the prolonged ban on State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno from attending meetings at the House of Representatives, saying it hinders negotiations on the government’s holding company plan.
Government Regulation (PP) No. 72/2016 was issued last year as the legal basis for the establishment of holding companies operating in different sectors.
The House’s Commission VI deputy chairman Azam Asman Natawijana said there had been concerns that the regulation could be used arbitrarily, as it allowed asset transfers from one company to another, including to private firms, without House approval.
Nonetheless, he said such a matter could not be discussed and solved properly without the presence of Rini at various meetings between the government and the House.
“It has been nearly two years since Minister Rini was banned from attending meetings at the House. This is not healthy, neither for the ministry nor the House, as it protracts the discussion of the holding company plan,” Azam said recently in Jakarta.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has been leading the negotiation with the House since the ban on Rini was introduced in December 2015 following a corruption case involving port operator PT Pelindo II and executives of four SOEs.
“However, it’s still not the domain of the finance minister to talk about this matter. We want to hear it directly from the SOE minister,” Azam said. (bbn)
