East Kutai fails to get answer from Jakarta over lower oil, gas revenue
Thursday, May 10 2001 - 04:30 AM WIB
The East Kutai district administration in East Kalimantan failed to get a clear explanation from the central government in Jakarta over the lower oil and gas revenue allocated to the district.
The local Kaltim Post daily reported that East Kutai top officials met on Wednesday in Jakarta with officials from the ministry of mineral resources and energy, ministry of finance, and ministry of internal affairs to seek explanation why East Kutai only received Rp 138 billion (US$1=Rp 11,000) in oil and gas revenue, a figure which is different to the one disclosed by President Abdurrahman Wahid in his speech earlier this year while delivering the 2001 state budget at the House of Representatives. In the speech, Abdurrahman said that East Kutai would receive around Rp 606 billion.
The East Kutai administration also questioned why its neighboring Kutai Kertanegara district obtained 10 times greater around Rp 1.04 trillion, which is much higher than the Rp 573 billion figure stated earlier by Abdurrahman in the budget speech.
Some East Kutai officials and councilors accused the Kutai Kertanegara administration officials to have lobbied the central government earlier this year at a time when there was a change in the top leaders at the ministry of mineral resources and energy from Susilo B. Yudhoyono to current minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro. Jakarta rejects this accusation.
The oil and gas revenue is a crucial funding for financing local development.
Some East Kutai councilors said that failure to provide clear explanation to the local people over the lower oil and gas revenue could trigger social unrest and security problem.
Related ministers are expected to convene to resolve the oil and gas revenue dispute.(*)