TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Nahdlatul Ulama leaders discuss mining concessions with Jokowi
In May Jokowi signed a revision to existing mining rules to allow the country’s religious organizations, including Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah to operate mining concessions.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Indonesia's largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) executive Yahya Cholil Staquf (left) shakes hand with President Joko (Antara/Wahyu Putro A.)
C
hairman of the country's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Yahya Cholil Staquf, on Thursday held a meeting with outgoing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo at the Presidential Palace to discuss the outfit's plan to invest in the mining industry.
In May Jokowi signed a revision to existing mining rules to allow the country’s religious organizations, including the NU and Muhammadiyah, to operate mining concessions.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Yahya said that he was confident that the NU could carry out the job of conducting mining operations, claiming that some officials in the organization had been in the business for a long time already.
"Our treasurer is, in fact, a mining businessman and of course, he is not alone in doing that. As a mining businessman of course he has a business network in the mining community. So I believe there's ample room for the NU to develop its capacity in this business," Yahya said, as quoted by Antara.
Yahya was referring to NU treasurer Gudfan Arif Ghofur, who has been serving as a commissioner and member of executive boards in several companies working in oil and gas, petrochemical and coal mining operations.
The senior leader of the NU also pledged that the NU would take concerns from environmentalists seriously in conducting its mining practices.
"We will maintain a balance between public goods and protection of the environment," he said.
