DPR Commission IV Supports Categorising Forest Fire Perpetrators as Ecological Terrorists
The Deputy Chairman of Commission IV of the House of Representatives (DPR), Alex Indra Lukman, supports the categorisation of forest and land fire (karhutla) perpetrators as ecological terrorists. Alex urged that President Prabowo Subianto’s directives regarding this matter be followed up immediately.
Alex stated that the government needs to submit a revision or a draft law (RUU) related to the handling of forest fires to the DPR. According to him, the term ‘ecological terrorism’ must not remain merely as discourse.
“I agree (with it becoming ecological terrorism); so that this does not stop at a mere term, the President’s directive must be immediately followed up by the relevant ministers by submitting a government-initiated bill to the DPR,” Alex told reporters on Thursday (17/9/2026).
Alex highlighted the enforcement of law against forest fire perpetrators. He noted that Law Number 41 of 1999 concerning Forestry already provides for prison sentences of up to 15 years.
“Based on Law Number 41 on Forestry, there is a prison sentence of 15 years, but so far, what has mostly been applied are administrative sanctions in the form of fines,” he said.
Alex is pushing for criminal sanctions to be applied to forest fire cases, particularly in regions experiencing recurring fires. He emphasised that investigations should not stop at field-level perpetrators but must extend to the companies or corporations that own or manage the land.
Previously, President Prabowo Subianto urged the strengthening of legal sanctions against those responsible for forest and land burning, including the possibility of classifying such actions as ecological terrorism. Prabowo assessed that the issue of forest and land fires has become a serious problem requiring firmer legal steps and regulatory strengthening.
The directive was delivered by President Prabowo while presiding over a hybrid limited meeting regarding the handling of several disasters across the country from the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Wednesday (16/9/2026). During the meeting, Prabowo received reports on forest fire management and mitigation steps to face conditions predicted to remain high-risk over the next 1.5 months.
Prabowo requested that the State Secretary, Prasetyo Hadi, along with the Minister of Law, Supratman Andi Agtas, deepen the study of sanction provisions for forest and land fire perpetrators. According to Prabowo, the strengthening of regulations can be achieved through legislative changes involving the House of Representatives (DPR).
“I said that the State Secretary and the Minister of Law should study this so that the legal sanctions, perhaps the laws, we ask the DPR to strengthen, so that we categorise this as ecological terrorism. This is very serious,” the President stated.