Jakarta | The Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises stated that Law Number 19 of 2003 on SOEs must indeed be revised to align with the mandate of the 1945 Constitution, particularly Article 33.
"The SOE regulations must be improved and directed in accordance with the mandate of the 1945 Constitution as an effort to create prosperity for all Indonesian people," said Deputy for Mining Business, Strategic Industry, and Media at the Ministry of SOEs, Fajar Harry Sampurno, in Jakarta, Wednesday.
Fajar made this statement in response to claims that state-owned enterprises have not yet received an appropriate constitutional share as state business units intended for the greatest prosperity of all Indonesian people.
However, according to Fajar, SOEs cannot be directed to fully control Indonesia's natural resources because not all commodities fall under the category of basic necessities for the people.
"There should not be such an obligation, as it could lead to monopolies. We should differentiate between SOEs that manage public necessities and those that should be able to compete," he said.
Fajar explained that SOEs entitled to monopolies are those managing public necessities, such as PT PLN, Bulog, PDAM, and the oil and gas sector. Meanwhile, for minerals, he emphasized that these commodities are open for management by anyone.
"This is because the mineral and coal sectors do not directly impact the basic needs of many people, at least for some part," he stated.
Previously, constitutional law expert Irmanputra Sidin argued that state-owned enterprises have not yet received an appropriate constitutional share as state business units.
"Law Number 19 of 2003 on SOEs directly emphasizes that SOEs are one of the economic actors based on economic democracy, which is inaccurate," said Irman at the DPR/MPR RI Building, Jakarta, Tuesday (15/3).
According to him, the law has unconsciously degraded SOEs, which should be business units representing national sovereignty and the state, making their position equal to both domestic and foreign private entities.
"Economic democracy in this context is subtly a form of compromise and the state's powerlessness against the forces of the free market," he stated.
Irman added that the constitution mandates that land, water, and the wealth contained within them must be absolutely controlled by the state for the greatest prosperity of the people. This is the fundamental purpose behind the establishment of SOEs—to ensure national prosperity.
"It must be understood that SOEs were not born out of economic democracy, let alone subject to the desires of the free market. This is what has made SOEs no different from private business units serving private interests. How can a state-owned enterprise compete with private businesses for economic opportunities when those opportunities clearly fall under the branches of state power?" he argued. (source: antaranews.com)