Jokowi Prioritizes Eradicating Oil Mafia
31 July 2014 12:26 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – President-elect Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said that he would prioritize efforts to battle oil mafia at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry (ESDM). According to Jokowi, oil mafia practices at the ministry had inflicted losses on the country.
Therefore, the ministry must be helmed by someone who had integrity and “strong leadership skills”, Jokowi said in Solo on July 2, 2014.
Jokowi said the ministry must be able to work swiflty and address the problem, adding that mafia practices stemmed from poor monitoring.
“We are frequently overwhelmed when it comes to supervisory management,” he said.
Aside from combating mafia practices plaguing the ESDM ministry, Jokowi said he would also put the reform of the Agriculture Ministry into priority in light of the beef import scandal besetting the ministry.
On July 30, 2014, ESDM Ministry’s spokesperson Saleh Abdurrahman shrugged off the mafia allegations and challenged Jokowi to prove them. Saleh added he was baffled by the indicators used to allege that mafia practices were afoot at the ministry.
Saleh, however, acknowledged that oil import was prone to illegal practices as it boasted a potential value of Rp1 trillion (US$83.4 million). “However, Pertamina is now importing oil from companies instead of from traders,” Saleh said.
ALI NUR YASIN | ANANDA TERESIA | DEWI SUCI RAHAYU