Golkar Vice President Says Mining Campus Management Improves Education Quality

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – vice president of Golkar Central Leadership Council of the Party, Ahmad Doli Kurnia Tandjung hopes that for universities, mining management can solve budgetary problems commonly encountered by campuses. Doli hopes that campus management of mines will also promote the quality of educational institutions.

“If universities have sufficient budgetary support, God willing, the development of universities will be faster,” Doli, vice chairman of the House Legislation Committee, said in a written message Wednesday evening January 22, 2025. “Of course, we hope that in the future the quality of the Indonesian people will also be better.

The legislative body of the House of Representatives approved on Monday, January 20, 2025, the drafting of the Minerals and Coal Bill or RUU Minerba, which will become the initiative proposal of the House. The Fourth Amendment Bill to Act Number 4 of 2009 contains provisions to grant Mining Business License Areas (WIUP) by auction or priority to commercial entities, cooperatives, sole proprietorships, community organizations and universities.

One of the reasons for revising the Minerba Law is to adapt to a government regulation previously issued by the 7th President, Joko Widodo. Jokowi issued Government Regulation (PP) Number 25 of 2024 at the end of May 2024. The PP adds provisions for granting special mining permit areas (WIUPK) to mass religious organizations (CSOs). This afternoon, the House of Representatives will hold a plenary session whose agenda will be the ratification of the revised mining law, which was the subject of discussions in Baleg.

Responding to the review of the Minerba Law, Doli said the plan was a commitment to positive action by the state or government in favor of the interests of the people. He asserted that the revision or addition of articles in the law mainly regulate how community groups representing the Indonesian people can get involved and benefit from the management of Indonesia's natural resources.

Doli said that if previously the government had decided that mass religious organizations were allowed to be involved in the management of mineral resource concessions through government regulation, then this policy should be emphasized and strengthened again at the level of the law. “If religious organizations are economically strong, it is hoped that the Ummah and its congregation can also benefit economically,” Doli said.

Gajah Mada University constitutional law expert Herlambang Perdana Wiratraman criticized the government's proposal to grant mining licenses to universities. According to him, the proposed revision of the Minerals and Coal Law (Minerba) is a form of failure in the management of the country. “This shows that the state is incompetent in managing education. This is not the case,” Herlambang told Tempo, Wednesday, January 22, 2025.

The UGM lecturer, who is also a human rights researcher, said mining management has always had a negative impact on society. environment. According to him, mining cannot therefore be considered a necessity in the world of education. “How do you want to believe it? Until now, there has been no experience with mining that protects the environment or humans,” he said.

Dean of the Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering at Bandung Institute of Technology or FTTM ITB, Ridho Kresna Wattimena also responded to the proposal. He said the campus has technical capabilities such as mine design and operation. However, he said the campus would face funding challenges. “What we need to pay attention to is financing, where will the money come from, if the campus has no money,” he told Tempo, Wednesday, January 22, 2025.

According to the professor of the Mining Engineering Expertise Group of FTTM ITB, the mining sector is relatively difficult because there are many influencing factors. One example relates to fluctuations in the price of mining commodities that are influenced by supply and demand, such as coal. “Can the campus business survive the conditions if, for example, for 3 to 4 years the price of mining raw materials continues to fall,” said Ridho.

He said that as long as human civilization requires mining materials, the mining sector will remain promising. The problem, he said, is related to efforts to maintain and support mining activity in the face of price fluctuations or political changes that arise. According to Ridho, as long as mining companies can apply the rules of good mining practices, their business can be sustainable.

The mining site that can be managed by the campus is if the land data is complete. Like a mining area that was previously managed by a company but left unexploited and then taken over by the government. The completeness of data, such as the quantity of mining material deposits and metal content, is known, so that design and mining can be carried out. “The campus should no longer be overburdened from the start, doing general surveys, having to do drilling, etc.,” he said.

Let's assume that this has to be done from the start on new mining lands, according to Ridho. In this case, explorations must be carried out such as research, planning, feasibility studies, environmental impact analysis permits. The duration of exploration varies from 5 to 10 years and results may be lower than expected. Regarding the human resources of campus-owned mining companies, professors may be involved as supervisors or advisors and alumni as workers.

However, the campus has other gaps if it wants to get involved in the management of the mine. “The business experience on campus is probably very minimal,” Ridho said. Universities must therefore first learn the mining profession, for example by imitating mining companies which already work well. “From a business perspective, risk and making money is what we don’t have yet.”

Anwar Siswadi contributed to the writing of this article.

DANIEL AHMAD FAJRI | EKO ARI WIBOWO

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