Supporting The Ban On Coal Exports, Gerindra: For The Sake Of The National Interest

Secretary General of Gerindra Ahmad Muzani/DOK ANTARA

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Gerindra Party faction of the House of Representatives Ahmad Muzani appreciated the government's move to ban coal exports from January 1 to January 31 next.

The prohibition was conveyed in a letter from the Director-General of Mineral and Coal of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ridwan Djamaluddin, dated December 31, 2021.

According to him, the ban on coal exports is appropriate. The reason is that currently the price of these commodities is skyrocketing and will become a threat to the supply of domestic electricity needs and energy for industrial needs.

"The government's ban on new coal exports is the right decision. Because the soaring price of coal is a threat to PLN's energy supply to meet national electricity needs. PLN has an obligation to illuminate electricity throughout the country, including providing electricity for industrial purposes. domestically", said Muzani in a written statement on Sunday, January 2.

"We support this policy because it is in the national interest", he added.

In addition, this prohibition also shows that the government is trying to overcome the threat of an energy crisis produced from coal. Especially, related to domestic power plants.

Muzani mentioned that when global coal prices were sluggish, businessmen competed to sell them to PLN because the price was better. However, when the world price of new stone soared, they no longer wanted to distribute it to PLN and this could threaten the electricity supply.

"This means that PLN could be threatened by the supply of coal which in the end threatens the supply of electricity to both the people and industry. This is an unfair attitude", said Muzani.

If this is allowed then the threat of electricity availability could be a problem. "Similarly, the level of competition from our industrial products can be disrupted due to coal supply problems for the industry", he said.

Muzani hopes that entrepreneurs will prioritize national interests, not personal or group interests.

Moreover, Indonesia is currently the second-largest coal exporting country in the world. Thus, domestic coal needs must be prioritized.

"Don't let our energy sources from coal, power plants, and industry be spent on international trade needs. Meanwhile, PLN and our industries die because of the inability to buy coal due to high prices. This is ironic in our country which is an abundant source of coal", he concluded.