TNI Told to Escort Seizure of Illegal Palm Oil Lands

KBRN, Jakarta: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto revealed that he has ordered the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) to escort the Attorney General's Office in seizing two illegal palm oil plantations totaling 100,000 hectares, based on an 18-year-old Supreme Court ruling that had been stalled.

Addressing over 400 global CEOs during a dialogue with Forbes Principal Steve Forbes at the Forbes Global CEO Conference 2025 in Jakarta on Wednesday evening, October 15, President Prabowo recounted the process under his leadership to execute the seizure.

"The first plantation was 50,000 hectares, and the second was 50,000 hectares, (and both) violated the law 18 years ago. There was a Supreme Court decision ordering (the state) to seize the two plantations. That Supreme Court decision was not executed for 18 years," President Prabowo stated, as quoted by antaranews.com.

The President explained that Attorney General ST Burhanuddin reported the reasons for the prolonged delay in executing the court decision.

"I gave the order to the TNI: Escort the Attorney General's Office. Escort the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK). Protect them! Go there and secure the area," President Prabowo asserted.

"As a result, we successfully took control of 100,000 hectares of plantation land without any issues. I believe this is an important point, the government must uphold the law, and I am firmly committed to doing so," he added.

In the same session, the President also disclosed that an estimated 3.7 million hectares of illegal palm oil plantations nationwide have been taken over by the state.

Beyond seizing illegal palm oil land, President Prabowo detailed his decision to establish a "blockade" around Bangka and Belitung Islands to prevent the smuggling of illegally mined tin out of the country.

The President noted he received reports of around 1,000 illegal tin mines on the two islands, estimating that Indonesia was losing 80 percent of the total tin production from Bangka Belitung due to smuggling.

"I emphasized, this must stop! I then ordered a training program in the waters of Bangka and Belitung Islands, involving warships, aircraft, helicopters, and drones. We blockaded the two islands. No vessel is allowed to enter or exit without being checked and its contents known, and with that, we successfully stopped the smuggling," the President said.

President Prabowo then recounted an instance where a small boat attempted to breach the blockade. "But we found tin inside that boat. Can you imagine? We immediately seized it (the illegal tin)," he said.

The President expressed confidence that continuous enforcement will save the state billions of US dollars in potential losses and is optimistic that national tin production will increase next year. ***