At the end of September 2015, Salim-who was often called Kancil-died fighting for his hometown which was devastated by sand mining activities in Lumajang, East Java.
This is not the first time mining conflicts have occurred. In general, where there is mining, the potential for contact between local communities and mining companies is a certainty. Samrinda City, for example. As much as 70 percent of the capital city of East Kalimantan is a coal mining business area.
Eleven children were recorded to have drowned in an ex-mining pool that was not reclaimed by the mining company, so the community filed a lawsuit. From mayors, governors, to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, they are defendants. Conflict after conflict continues to occur, but the state, as the authority, seems to only resolve solutions through the "swatting the mosquito" method without anticipatory policies.
The murder of an activist and the deaths of eleven children cannot be separated from the role of the state which is absent from carrying out a controlling function. Permission is given freely, without any clear procedures. Permits are like merchandise being bought and sold without a clear environmental and social impact analysis. In the end, many permits were violated, manipulated and even used as a means of extracting rents from local authorities.
As happened in Lumajang, the mining that Kancil and the community rejected was mining with a tourism business permit. Ease of granting permits should be interpreted through transparency of procedures, costs, time and rules. The authorities were playing around in granting permits due to unclear permit processing.
The implementation of permits in the regions is left in the dark without certainty of procedures and legal regulations so that entrepreneurs' requests to obtain permits in a concise manner, even though they do not comply with the regulations, can still be accommodated by the local government.
Rent-seeking through permit instruments eliminates the control and supervision function of mining activities. The licensing regime is set here and there, making local governments, and even the central government, forget the essence of licensing itself. Illegal mining and without clear permits must be dealt with firmly by local governments. The regional original income (PAD) targets imposed on the relevant agencies have resulted in the agencies that should have the function of controlling and supervising only focusing on efforts to meet the PAD targets.
In the end, the local government was not firm and indifferent. This is what triggers conflict. The regional work unit in the case of illegal sand mining in Lumajang, in this case the Mining Service, should carry out checks. Likewise, the Tourism Office, as the permit provider, must control and ensure that the permits that have been issued are used according to their intended purpose.
The failure to carry out the duties of these related agencies indicates that the regional government has forgotten its obligation to protect the community. Taking sides with local economic authorities and ignoring mining business conflicts with the community is a big mistake. For this reason, the state is responsible for the death of the mouse deer, the illness of the community, and the damage to the environment.
It feels like the state is the mastermind behind mining conflicts that continue to claim lives in society. If the state, through regional governments, does not immediately reorganize all business permits, not just mining, and clarify licensing rules and procedures, it is certain that Mouse Deer will not be the only victim.
The government can also control this conflict through strict enforcement of spatial and regional planning (RTRW). Any local government cannot push back and forth in granting permits related to RTRW. Granting a permit without being based on the RTRW is a violation. The sand mine in Lumajang needs to be investigated, whether it is intended for tourism or mining. If the permit is for a tourism business area and the activity carried out is mining, government officials will of course know that it is a violation.
The clarity of the RTRW is the basis for certainty for entrepreneurs in running their business. RTRW will also be an instrument that reduces friction between entrepreneurs and the community. Unraveling this conflict is an effort to reactivate the role of the state. The state must be the protector of its citizens. Do we live in a barbaric world where the rule of law does not play a role in ensuring the security of its citizens? Other mouse deer will continue to exist if the state does not act immediately.
Published in Koran Tempo Thursday, October 8 2015
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