December 02, 2008

PT Krakatau privatization to harm national interest – Lawmaker

ANTARA News reported that Indonesia government should cancel its plan to privatize state owned steel company Krakatau Steel if the move means sacrificing the country’s ability to meet its defense needs.

The report quoted Mr Mutammimul Ula a member of the House of Representatives Commission I on defense affairs as saying that "The privatization of the steel company should not harm the country’s interest, much less sacrifice the interest of the nation’s defense needs.”

He said that "Almost all of the country’s main armament industries need iron ore as raw material. National metal industries have contributed a lot to the procurement of the nation’s main defense system equipment.” He added that the government should show its commitment to empowering national defense industries, in this case Krakatau Steel as a state owned strategic industry, to maximize its production capacity.

Mr Ula said that Being a strategic asset, Krakatau Steel should be maintained as it was the government’s mainstay to develop domestic defense industries. He said that "We should not lose our strength as a state by letting foreigners take over all of our assets. Therefore, I want to stress once again that the government should cancel its plan to privatize Krakatau Steel.”