Forestry Minister Raja Juli Explains Absence from Prabowo's Forest Fire Review

Jakarta – Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni has revealed the reason he did not accompany President Prabowo Subianto on the inspection of forest and land fire (karhutla) handling, saying the Head of State wanted to focus on strengthening the support of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and the National Police (Polri) in controlling forest and land fires.

Raja Juli explained why he and Environment Minister Moh Jumhur Hidayat did not accompany President Prabowo to a number of regions in Kalimantan and Sumatra in the context of handling forest and land fires.

“As the State Secretary Minister has already explained to the media, the President’s visit to Kalimantan and Sumatra focused on increasing the strength of personnel and equipment, such as helicopters for water bombing and so on. Therefore, the TNI Commander and the National Police Chief were invited to join the entourage,” said Raja Juli in a written statement on Tuesday, 25 August 2026.

Speaking during a visit to inspect forest and land fire handling in Jambi today, the Forestry Minister confirmed that his communication with the Head of State is going well and stated that, based on President Prabowo’s orders, he continues to carry out duties in the field in a number of regions in handling forest and land fires.

“My communication as the President’s aide with the President is going well. He is a communicative boss. I went down to Riau, South Sumatra, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, West Kalimantan and today in Jambi, with his permission and on his orders,” said Raja Juli.

The Forestry Minister had previously visited a number of regions, including South Sumatra, South Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, and is now back in Jambi on the President’s orders. In addition, he is also checking that the implementation of the President’s instructions regarding forest and land fire handling in the field is running well.

Previously, President Prabowo conducted inspections of a number of vulnerable provinces that are currently working to handle forest and land fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra. On Monday, 24 August, the President led a forest and land fire control meeting in Pekanbaru, Riau, and Palembang, South Sumatra.