Pertamina's New Boss Gets Bullied by Lawmakers

The Jakarta Post , JAKARTA | Tue, 02/17/2009 8:49 AM | Headlines

High and dry: Pertamina president director Karen Agustiawan (center) prepares to leave a conference room Monday at the House of Representatives, after legislators abruptly halted a hearing. ANTARA/ISMAR PATRIZKI

A hearing between the House of Representatives' energy commission and the new management of state oil and gas company PT Pertamina turned sour Monday as lawmakers felt offended by a letter from the company, in their view naively questioning the effectiveness and efficiency of their previous meeting.

Commission VII deputy chairman Sony Keraf ended the meeting while Pertamina president director Karen Agustiawan was still replying to points from lawmakers on Feb 10.

Sony said Pertamina’s corporate secretary Toharso had disgraced the lawmakers by questioning the House's supervision authorities.

“Nobody, not even the president himself dares to question our authority and rights to question whatever is needed to be asked."

“Pertamina does not only disgrace the commission, but the whole parliamentary body as well. That’s why we need to know whether Toharsos's action also represents Pertamina’s board of directors’ view on the previous meeting,” he added.

Toharso wrote to lawmakers on Feb. 13 that Pertamina was very disappointed with the way the lawmakers questioned the capacity of its current president director. He considered the questions had deviated from the initial agenda, thus violating the House internal rules.

Right after Sony terminated the session, Karen promptly packed her things and left the meeting room.

“We'll answer any questions but not on the deprecatory points. Comparing Pertamina’s president director as similar to a satpam (private security guard) is outrageous,” Karen said, referring to a metaphor by lawmakers in the previous hearing.

“The board of directors know about the letter, and gave approval to send it to the House based on the recommendations from our legal team," said Karen rushing to her car.

The Feb. 10 meeting was more dominated by mockery than a discussion about Pertamina's problems and future strategies.

Despite the incident, Toharso, in the job for less than five months, insisted the House would have efficient hearings in the future.

Energy analyst Pri Agung Rakhmanto said the “bullying” Karen received was common practice. She needed to learn the ropes.

“I think there is nothing strange about the incident. What Karen needs to do now is to prove her capacity by delivering excellent performance,” he said.

Perceived widely as a cash cow for ruling politicians, Pertamina bosses often receive out-of-context humiliating remarks from lawmakers during hearings. Sometimes, lawmakers hope to get kickbacks later if they keep quiet for the next session.

Despite numerous problems plaguing the energy and mining sector, other hearings between related authorities and Commission VII have been regularly far from hostility and more amicable.

Source : www.thejakartapost.com