In The Aftermath Of The Smelter Explosion In Morowali, Member Of Commission VII DPR Asks The Government To Audit All Chinese Smelters

Member of Commission VII DPR Mulyanto. (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Member of Commission VII DPR Mulyanto asked the Government to temporarily suspend (the moratorium) all operations of the Chinese company's smelter in Indonesia.

This includes conducting a strict audit of all these smelters.

This request follows a major explosion at the PT. Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel (ITSS) smelter in the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) area, Sunday, December 24.

"The government must strictly audit all these smelters because of frequent work accidents that result in casualties. Audits must be carried out in a professional, objective and comprehensive manner on aspects of work security and safety," he said in Jakarta, Sunday, December 24.

Mulyanto reminded that because of political considerations, the government ignores the security and safety aspects of work in these companies.

"It is common knowledge that most of the work equipment in Chinese smelters is imported from China as well. Even the smallest components such as bolts and nuts," he explained.

Therefore, continued Mulyanto, the government needs to know the quality of goods that have been used to support the operation of smelters in Indonesia.

"Maybe the goods and spare parts used do not meet the specified requirements," said Mulyanto.

Regarding the accident that occurred in Morowali, Mulyanto admitted that he was very concerned. This incident caused at least 35 victims, of which 13 people died. Whereas some time before there was a work accident at the PT. GNI smelter which resulted in 2 deaths.

"This is the largest explosion in the history of the operation of a smelter belonging to a Chinese company in Indonesia. The government should seriously follow up on this case. We need to know what caused the smelter explosion," he said.

"Is it due to the weak factor of factory reliability, purely a factor of human negligence, or there are other reasons. The government is responsible for thoroughly investigating this case," he continued.

Mulyanto said this incident should be a valuable lesson so that it must be understood and become a momentum to evaluate all cooperation agreements with Chinese companies.

The government must look for the roots so that incidents like this can be prevented repeatedly in the future.

"PT ITTS must be responsible for treatment, care, burial and provision of compensation," he said.