IAW Highlights Determination Of Rempang Eco-City As PSN Through Permenko

Rempang Eco-City rejection by local residents (Ist)

JAKARTA Indonesian Audit Watch (IAW) highlighted legal irregularities in the determination of the Rempang Eco-City project worth IDR 381 trillion which was suddenly included in the National Strategic Project List (PSN). In fact, the project is not listed in the 2025-2029 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) as stated in Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 12 of 2025.

However, the project actually appeared in the Regulation of the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs (Permenko) Number 16 of 2025, which stipulates it as PSN number 13.

The ministerial regulation can overtake presidential regulations. This is an irony when the bureaucracy dares to go beyond the national planning constitution," said IAW's Founder Secretary, Iskandar Sitorus, in Jakarta, Friday, November 7.

IAW considers this step as a violation of the hierarchy of laws and regulations. Based on Article 7 of Law Number 12 of 2011, the presidential regulation is above ministerial regulations, while Law Number 25 of 2004 concerning the National Development Planning System also emphasizes that every development program must be sourced from RPJMN.

"It's like being smuggled through a regulatory backdoor, without passing through a constitutional gate. It's a systematic administrative engineering," said Iskandar.

The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) report also shows a recurrent pattern in national major projects. In the Summary of Semester Examination Results (IHPS) I of 2023, BPK recorded 9,261 findings worth Rp. 18.19 trillion. More than half of PSN projects do not have a Strategic Environment Study (KLHS), while about 45 percent of projects experience cost overruns, and 1,892 BPK recommendations are not followed up.

IAW noted that this pattern had been going on across governments. In the SBY era (20052014), 43 percent of infrastructure projects experienced delays. During the Jokowi I (20152019) period, there were 58 PSN without complete environmental studies, and in Jokowi II (20202024), 67 of the 226 PSN were administratively problematic. Now, in the era of President Prabowo (2025), the Rempang project resurfaced through Permenko 16/2025.

According to IAW, the root of the problem lies in Government Regulation (PP) Number 56 of 2018 which opens a policy bypass' or policy smuggling through procedurally valid administrative channels but constitutionally flawed.

"When governance is smuggled, the damage is not only on paper. Bappenas loses its planning role, the DPR loses its supervisory function, and the BPK loses its recommendation authority," said Iskandar.

IAW also noted that 7,715 residents of Rempang lost land and houses due to the project. The coastal ecosystem was damaged without any analysis of adequate environmental impacts (Amdal).

The rupiah trillions of public funds evaporated without clear results. All that remains is administratively legitimate injustice but morally wrong," he continued.

As a corrective step, IAW recommends that the new PSN moratorium up to PP 56/2018 be revised, forensic audits of the Rempang project by BPK, Ombudsman, and KPK, fair compensation for affected residents, as well as restoring the role of Bappenas as a national development guard.

"Obey the BPK report for the last two decades. Rempang is not just a project this is a moral test of development governance. Do not let the people lose confidence in the process," concluded Iskandar.