East Kalimantan accusation against KPC groundless: Rio Tinto
Wednesday, July 11 2001 - 03:58 AM WIB
?We think that the report (filed by) the East Kalimantan administration to the National Police headquarters and the Attorney General?s Office is groundless. Because, the divestment program is pure a business affair,? Nunik Maharani Maulana, public relations manager of PT Rio Tinto Indonesia, told the local Radar Kaltim daily.
The East Kalimantan administration has reported KPC to the national police and attorney general?s office over alleged production data manipulation which amount to corruption. The administration said that KPC had already started coal production and export in 1987, while KPC had claimed the activity started in 1992.
The report was made as East Kalimantan has not been able to obtain a 51 percent stake in KPC. The coal company is supposed to divest a 51 percent stake to the East Kalimantan administration. But the implementation of the divestment program continues to drag on, with the two sides have not been able to agree on the price.
Rio Tinto president Noke Kiroyan recently sent a letter to Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Purnomo Yusgiantoro to inform the latter about the East Kalimantan accusation.
Kiroyan has dismissed the accusation. He also said that the case would be detrimental to the country?s effort in alluring foreign investors particularly to the mining sector.
But Purnomo claimed last week that he had not received the letter. He also said that he would not interfere in the affair.
There has been speculation that the Rio Tinto letter would lead Purnomo to pressure the East Kalimantan administration to withdraw the accusation. The accusation has said that it would not back off.
Elsewhere, Nunik said that the letter sent to Rio Tinto was a normal procedure to inform the authority about development in the mining operation.(*)