ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – Member of Commission VI DPR RI Mulyanto urged the government to temporarily stop all Chinese nickel smelter operations in Indonesia.
This call was made following the PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel (ITSS) smelter explosion incident in the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) area on Sunday, December 24 2023. The explosion resulted in 12 people dying.
“I am very concerned that work accidents have occurred again at the Chinese company’s smelter. Some time previously there was also an accident at the PT GNI smelter which resulted in the death of 2 people,” said Mulyanto in a written statement, Sunday, December 24 2023.
“The government needs to strictly audit all Chinese smelters,” he stressed.
Mulyanto also said that it was important for the audit to be carried out professionally, objectively and comprehensively regarding work safety and security aspects.
“Don’t let the government ignore aspects of work safety and security in these companies because of political considerations,” said the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician.
According to Mulyanto, the quality of goods used to support smelter operations must also be checked. Moreover, he said, most of the working equipment at China’s smelters was imported from China too.
“We need to know. Maybe the goods and spare parts used do not meet the specified requirements,” he said.
Furthermore, Mulyanto said that the incident at PT ITSS this morning should be a valuable lesson that is truly understood. Moreover, this explosion was the largest explosion in the history of the operation of a smelter owned by a Chinese company in Indonesia.
Therefore, the government must seriously follow up on this case so that the cause of the explosion can be known.
“Is it due to weak factory reliability, purely human negligence, or are there other reasons? The government is responsible for thoroughly investigating this case,” said Mulyanto.
He also said that the incident at PT ITSS should be a momentum for the government to evaluate all cooperation agreements with Chinese companies.
“The government must find the root of the problem so that incidents like this can be prevented from recurring in the future,” said Mulyanto.
Meanwhile, the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment will send a team to Morowali, Central Sulawesi, to directly check field conditions following the explosion of the PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel (ITSS) smelter furnace.
Deputy for Investment and Mining Coordination at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Septian Hario Seto said the team would be dispatched this week to directly check the condition of the field and the handling of victims.
“Focus on handling the victim and family. Meanwhile, an investigation will be carried out as to why this happened,” he said. (AT Network)
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