East Lombok Regent: There Is a 100-Hectare Iron Sand Mining Activity In The Dedalpak Block

East Lombok Regent Sukiman Azmy witnessed the corruption case of PT AMG's iron sand mine with the defendants Rinus Adam Wakum and Po Suwandi at the Mataram District Court, NTB, Thursday, September 14, 2023. (ANTARA-Dhimas B.P.)

NTB - East Lombok Regent Sukiman Azmy acknowledged the existence of iron sand mining activities in the Dedalpak Block which is the production operation area of ​​PT Anugrah Mitra Graha (AMG).

Sukiman answered questions from the public prosecutor (JPU) in the witness examination trial for the PT AMG iron sand mining corruption case with defendants Rinus Adam Wakum and Po Suwandi.

"About 6 months ago I went to the location (Dedalpak Block) with the regional secretary and the head of the relevant OPD. If I observed the mining activity there was no more than 100 hectares," he said at the Corruption Court at the Mataram District Court, Thursday, September 14, as reported by Antara.

With this case, now the location that appears to be a mining object has left behind production waste and mining waste that has not been taken care of.

"So, what we saw in the field was PT AMG's production which is now in the form of mounds, mountains of sand, mining holes, it is on state-owned land. According to regulations, it should be returned to its original state, there are no holes that cause abrasion. "So, there are conditions that have not been restored," he said.

Regarding this condition, Sukiman said that the East Lombok Regency Government no longer had the authority to take a stand considering that the matter had moved into the hands of the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

Regarding public complaints asking the government to take a stand regarding the damaged road conditions leading to the mining site in the Dedalpak Block, Sukiman admitted that he had given instructions to his staff to forward the information to PT AMG.

"I called the head of Bapenda and the regional secretary, it turned out that their information was that there had been a 4 month deposit from PT AMG," said Sukiman.

Regarding the purpose of the deposit, he admitted that he did not ask for confirmation from his staff, including receiving a report regarding PT AMG's obligations to the regional government regarding levies from land use.

"Yes, I don't know about that, there was no report to me. Usually, if there is a report, there is PAD, it goes straight to Bapenda, I don't get a report," he said.

As Regent of East Lombok for two terms, Sukiman confirmed that he was the one who signed the issuance of a production operation permit for PT AMG's iron sand mining in the Dedalpak Block in 2012 with an area of ​​1,348 hectares.

The issuance of the production operation permit is a follow-up to the issuance of PT AMG's exploration permit in the Dedalpak Block in 2011.

"Yes, so of the 1,348 hectares of land, some of it belongs to the state, some of it belongs to residents," he said.

However, until the end of his term as Regent of East Lombok for the first period in 2008-2013, Sukiman emphasized that there was no PT AMG activity carrying out mining in the Dedalpak Block.

"Until August 2013 at the end of my position there was no mining because there was resistance from the community," he said.

He admitted that he did not know the basis for PT AMG being able to carry out mining activities during his second term as Regent of East Lombok.

Likewise with the issuance of a decision letter on the relocation of PT AMG mining which was issued in 2014 by the then East Lombok Regent M. Ali bin Dachlan. This includes the issuance of a decision letter to revoke relocation in 2018 by the Regional Secretary of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Province Lalu Gita Ariadi.

"About that (relocation decree), I don't know," he said.

Even though he admitted that he was not aware of the existence of the relocation decree, Sukiman, in his second term as Regent of East Lombok, again assured that the iron sand mining activity was taking place in the Dedalpak Block, not on the relocation land.

"What we saw 6 months ago, in the Dedalpak area, was in accordance with what I issued the permit during the first period. I don't know about the relocation," said Sukiman.

In the trial with the agenda of examining witnesses, the public prosecutor was unable to present the defendant Po Suwandi for the third time before the panel of judges due to illness.

The public prosecutor told the panel of judges led by Isrin Surya Kurniasih to convey this reason by showing Po Suwandi's health check result letter from the Mataram City Regional General Hospital.