The Jakarta Post , Sat, 06/28/2008
Factions at the House of Representatives have promised to use a newly established inquiry committee to uncover wrongdoings in the country's energy industry, including mafia-like practices.
"The inquiry team will investigate the unclear crude oil import mechanisms, which are allegedly controlled by mafia, and which have forced the state and the public to pay 20 percent more for this commodity than they should," Effendy Choirie, head of the National Awakening Party (PKB) faction, said Friday.
He said the inquiry team was designed to uncover national oil and gas technical management and the principles behind government energy policies in general.
"The team will investigate why the government wants to liberalize fuel prices. The Constitutional Court has amended an article in the Oil and Gas Law stipulating that fuel prices be adjusted to business competition because it contradicts the Constitution," he said.
"The team will also investigate why domestic oil production has continued to drop over the past eight years. Does it have anything to do with the existence of the Upstream Oil and Gas Executive Agency (BP Migas)? Why does our cost recovery continue to increase while our oil production always decreases?"
During Tuesday's plenary session, the House decided to use its right to investigate the government's policy over the fuel price rise and has already set up a 50-strong team.
Voting at the plenary session was marked by an about-face as three parties -- the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) -- that had supported the government also voted to invoke the inquiry right.
Mahfudz Siddiq, head of the PKS faction, said his faction reversed its stance because lawmakers had agreed to use the inquiry right to investigate not only the fuel price rise policy, but also the entire national energy policy.
"We hope the inquiry team will find the answers to the core problems of our poor management of oil and gas," he said.
Despite the positive aspects of the inquiry team, a legal expert at Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University, Denny Indrayana, saw possibilities the inquiry right could be politicized.
"The inquiry right is the lawmakers' most powerful weapon. We don't know yet how the lawmakers will use this right," he said.
Denny said if the lawmakers were serious about conducting the investigation into the oil and gas policy, the team would end up unveiling corruption in the sector.
"We must keep our eyes wide open on the House's inquiry team to control their work in achieving this ideal," he said. (alf)
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