Government wants House to scrap palm oil bill

JAKARTA. The government has called on the House of Representative to delist the palm oil bill from its prioritized legislation program this year.

Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution said on Monday that if the bill was passed into law, it was contradict other existing laws and regulations.

“Based on our comprehensive review and consultation with various stakeholders, the government concludes that the palm oil bill is not yet needed,” he said in a hearing with the House’s Legislation Body (Baleg) on Monday.

In its review, the government found that the bill contradicted a number of laws, namely Law No. 39/2014 on plantations, Law No. 14/2014 on industry and Law No. 19/1999 on the protection and empowerment of farmers.

One chapter, about 6% of the bill’s content, had significant differences with existing regulations, while two others, 12% of the content, also differed from current laws, according to the review.

The government will instead strengthen the existing Indonesian Oil Palm Estate Fund (BPDP-KS) to support a national revitalization program for at least 30,000 hectares of oil palm plantations in the next year as well as a biodiesel scheme.

Most Baleg members have insisted on continuing with deliberating the bill as Indonesia needs a specific law, or lex specialis, to regulate palm oil as a national strategic commodity that is one of the country’s major sources of income. (Grace D. Amianti)