TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Legislation Body of the House of Representatives (Baleg DPR) has agreed on the draft of the Mineral and Coal Mining Bill (Minerba Bill) to become a proposal initiated by the DPR on Monday, January 20, 2025. One of the controversial points in the bill is to permit universities to manage mining.

Baleg DPR Chair Bob Hasan said that this bill contains provisions for granting Mining Business License Areas (WIUP) through auctions or on a priority basis to several parties, such as business entities, cooperatives, individual companies, community organizations (Ormas), and universities.

"The government wants to ensure that all layers of society have equal rights to manage natural resources. Therefore, universities are allowed to participate in managing natural resources, especially mineral and coal," said Bob during a plenary meeting at the parliament building in Jakarta.

Bob also said that granting licenses to universities could improve the quality of education. According to him, the universities require a large budget to have quality educators, facilities, and infrastructure, so mining management could be a solution to support education financing.

Deputy Speaker of the House, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, also said that the idea of universities managing mining is not an issue as long as it aligns with the main goal of supporting university funding. "I think the goal is to find funds for universities," said Dasco when speaking with reporters at the Parliament Building in Central Jakarta on Thursday.

However, he said it is important to regulate the mining management mechanism so the benefits are truly felt by universities.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chair of Commission X of the DPR, Lalu Hadrian Irfani, said that the idea of granting mining licenses to universities needs to be thoroughly examined.

"For us, this needs to be studied first. It must be calculated properly to ensure that the business aspect does not outweigh the primary goal of education," said Lalu to the media at the Parliament Building in Central Jakarta on Thursday, January 23, 2025.

The National Awakening Party (PKB) politician assured that his party would have further discussions with the Minister of Education, Science, and Technology Satryo Soemantri Brodjonegoro regarding the proposal.

Lalu also said this proposal is still just an idea and has not been implemented yet. According to him, the primary goal of universities as educational institutions must remain the top priority.

All factions in the House of Representatives (DPR) have approved the Minerba Bill. Of the eight factions, four have given their approval with conditions, namely the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), the National Democratic Party (NasDem), the National Awakening Party (PKB), and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

Meanwhile, the other four factions approved it without conditions, including the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Democratic Party, the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), and the Golkar Party.

Although it received approval, the Minerba Bill is still met with both support and opposition. Some parties have cautioned that this policy should not shift the primary goal of universities as educational institutions, while others argue that this opportunity could support the financial independence of universities.

On the other hand, the mechanism for managing mining by universities is expected to be formulated to remain aligned with sustainability principles and provide maximum benefits for the education sector.

Nabiila Azzahra, Sapto Yunus, and Antara contributed to the writing of this article.

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