East Kalimantan parliament to ask KEM to divest stake
Tuesday, May 30 2000 - 04:00 AM WIB
The East Kalimantan House of Representatives will ask gold mining giant in the province PT Kelian Equatorial Mining (KEM) to provide part of its stake to the local administration, according to prominent legislator HM Rusli.
Rusli, who represents President Abdurrahman's National Awakening Party, was quoted as saying by the Suara Kaltim daily that this would be part of the parliament's big agenda to demand huge firms operating in the province to contribute more to the local economy.
Rusli said that he had talked this over with visiting top official of gold mining giant Rio Tinto, which controls 90 percent of KEM, during a recent gathering in Jakarta.
He said that there's been increasing concern among the public that large mining, oil and gas companies operating in the province had only exploited the local natural resources and caused pollution without contributing much to the development of the local economy.
Rusli said that this has to change or there could be a "people power" to take over the companies. (*)