Oil And Gas Import Disrupts, LaNyalla Mattalitti Reminds Rente Hunter Factors

LaNyala Mataliti, rent-seeking in oil and gas. (IST)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the DPD RI AA LaNyalla Mattalitti reminded the President and law enforcement officials to focus on cleaning up the influence of rent-seekers in the birth of import policies in ministries and SOEs in Indonesia. Because, these rent-seekers are allegedly already in the circle of power and can distort trading procedures and obscure data.

The simplest example is the chaotic data on natural gas needs which are serious problems within Pertamina and the State Gas Company (PGN). So that gas over supply and forced to be sold again in the world market. Even though the recommendation for importing natural gas is based on data," said LaNyalla, October 9.

As reported, natural gas imports stem from the existence of data that the president believes in the report of the relevant ministries, that Indonesia will have a gas deficit until 2040. So that the government assigns Pertamina to import gas for domestic needs.

In fact, Indonesia has never lacked natural gas. The domestic market only absorbs half of the national production. Even in field calculations, if all coal power plants are converted to natural gas fuel, and all refineries use gas, imports are still not needed.

"The chaos of data and the chaos of this policy should be suspected that there are rent-seeking hands, entrepreneurs who are intertwined with the authorities, creating policies, because with the purchase to third parties, there must be money that can be shared," said the East Java Chamber of Commerce and Industry Advisor.

Likewise with the import policy at the Ministry of Trade for a number of basic needs. LaNyalla said, almost nine basic commodities, maybe in addition to shallots, we import. How many million tons if calculated. How much is the profit of importers per kilogram. How much is divided? This is the problem. Want to get quick money, "he added. Therefore, LaNyalla asked the government, in this case the President and law enforcement officials, to focus on the game of these rent-seekers. Although according to him, it is not easy. Because these rent-seekers are generally involved since the preparation of policies.

What is difficult is that when they are already in the circle of policymakers, or even the policymaker himself. It's like the poet Khalil Gibran, they never spread seeds, never compose stones and never weaving cloth. But making politics a field of making money, to build their own business empire," concluded LaNyalla Mattalitti.