- In May 2024, Indonesian President Joko Widodo (commonly known as Jokowi) signed new regulations that allow religious organizations in the country to become mining operators.
- The policy has been widely criticized by civil society groups, with some seeing the move as the result of a political deal with Nahdlatul Ulama, the country’s largest Islamic organization, to deliver votes to Jokowi’s chosen successor in the February 2024 presidential election.
- Nahdlatul Ulama youth told Mongabay Indonesia that Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization would break promises to protect the environment if it goes ahead with its plans to operate the coal concession.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s widely criticized move to amend mining regulations to grant coal mining licenses to affiliated religious groups has caused a rift between the group’s leaders and Islamic activists in the community, sources told Mongabay Indonesia.
On May 30, President Jokowi signed amendments to the current mining regulations that allow religious organizations in the country to operate mining concessions.
The extraordinary reforms were spearheaded by the country’s Investment Minister, Baril Lahadalia, a Jokowi ally who faces serious allegations of wrongdoing in revoking and reissuing mining permits.
In Jakarta, allowing religious groups to run mines is widely interpreted as payback for the votes of Nahdlatul Ulama, the country’s largest Islamic organization, for Jokowi’s ally Prabowo Subianto, who was elected president in February after a court led by Jokowi’s brother-in-law changed the age limit to allow Jokowi’s son to run as Prabowo’s vice president.
Prabowo has run for high office in three elections over the past 15 years, but was rejected by voters all three times.
Surveys of Indonesian voters going back a decade have shown that Jokowi, who served two terms as president, has enjoyed extraordinary popularity over the years.
The ploy of bringing in Jokowi’s immature 36-year-old son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as Prabowo’s official candidate changed the poll results and led Prabowo to a landslide victory in the election.
Civil society groups told Mongabay that the changes are riddled with procedural and practical pitfalls.
“It’s nonsense,” Muhammad Jamil, legal director at watchdog National Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam), told Mongabay Indonesia on May 1.
Nahdlatul Ulama is by far the largest Islamic organization in Indonesia, with an estimated 100 million followers. The decision on religious mining permits comes as Islamic organizations have won praise both at home and abroad for raising awareness about biodiversity loss and climate change.
According to interviews, many young Islamic activists who were impressed by this shift to environmental issues have reacted with disappointment to Jokowi’s policy decisions.
“This is rife with conflicts of interest,” Asman Aziz, head of the NU chapter in East Kalimantan province, told Mongabay Indonesia.
Six former concessions are set to be handed over to religious groups: four in East Kalimantan and two in South Kalimantan.
“If NU colludes with the miners, all NU can do is sit back and make profits,” said Asman from East Kalimantan. “They will not be able to criticize the damage caused by the mines.”
Low NU
The country’s largest Islamic organization applied for a coal mining permit in East Kalimantan shortly after President Joko Widodo’s office issued Presidential Regulation No. 25 this year, allowing religious organizations to obtain mining rights.
But in 2015, NU leaders issued a decree against the exploitation of natural resources at Bakhtu-ul-Masa’il, the organization’s general assembly where Islamic scholars examine holy texts to determine contemporary policy.
In recent years, civil society organisations and young people within NU and Muhammadiyah have sought to place a greater emphasis on environmental activism, sparking changes such as clerical bodies issuing fatwas, Islamic edicts, against some forms of environmental destruction, and grassroots movements promoting sustainability.
“I Ulama “If we encourage Muslims and Islamic leaders to play an active role in communicating issues regarding environmental destruction, we will take more concrete actions,” Indonesia’s Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, himself an Islamic cleric, told a gathering of Islamic leaders at the Muslim Conference for a Sustainable Indonesia held at Jakarta’s Istiqlal Mosque in 2022.
Roy Murtad, a NU member who founded an Islamic boarding school in the city of Bogor, just south of the capital, said NU’s moonlighting as a mining tycoon was tantamount to the organisation breaking its promises to protect the environment.
“Among NU’s many convention decisions is the diversion of food production land for the benefit of large corporations. Haram [forbidden by Islamic law] “Environmental destruction leading to socio-ecological damage is haram,” Roy said.
Young activists fear that NU could antagonize local communities and indigenous groups, a religious organization that is typically expected to advocate for those affected by land conversion.
Roy said the policy could create stigma in communities where people feel they cannot speak out against mining activities for fear it would go against their faith.
Others point to the precarious nature of the business, where workplace accidents are common.
This could expose religious organizations to legal risks regarding liability. Moreover, the mining business is rife with elite corruption and legal maneuvering, and any allegations of illegal activity could threaten NU’s legitimacy.
Money pit
“The problem is that so far there have been no discussions between the PBNU and the PWNU regarding this plan. This is a big problem,” Azam said, referring to the NU’s national and regional committees.
“This should be discussed within the organisation as the organisation’s name is at stake,” Azam added. “There is no public debate on this issue.”
Azam told the National Executive Committee that mining has caused widespread environmental damage in East Kalimantan, where some 49 children have been recorded as drowning in abandoned mines.
“This issue of concessions is a very important strategic issue,” Assmann said, adding that a decision of such importance requires the widest possible discussion.
Like many others, Assmann believes the sudden coal support is a ploy to tie NU down in political loyalty.
Izzuddin Zaki, head of the NU chapter in East Java’s Trenggalek district, refrained from criticising the leadership but said the potential costs of mining outweighed any benefits.
“We are not authorized to comment on PBNU’s response regarding the mining concession,” Izzuddin told Mongabay, referring to the NU national committee, “but our commitment remains that we will not operate a gold mine in Trengualec.”
Azam said NU should position itself as an advocate for mining-affected communities, not an implementer of environmental changes that harm communities.
“As an NU person, I’m honestly really saddened,” Usman said.
Banner image: Coal mine in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Photo by Cassidy K. / ILO via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
This story was reported and first published by Mongabay’s Indonesia team. here our Indonesian site June 10, 2024.
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