Government told to nix land deals with Soeharto associates
JAKARTA (JP): State forestry firm Perum Perhutani has urged the Ministry of Forestry and Plantations to cancel its land swap deals with eight companies linked to former president Soeharto's families and cronies.
Perhutani president A. Fattah DS said on Thursday that the swap deals only benefited private parties which intended to use the acquired 11,481 hectares of forest for commercial purposes.
"Perhutani wants the deals canceled because the value of land the private companies swapped in compensation was below the value of land they acquired from Perhutani," he said at a media conference.
"We are now involved in a discussion with the Ministry of Forestry and Plantations to cancel the deals."
He said the deals had to be canceled by the minister of forestry and plantations since they were made between the ministry and private companies.
Fattah said that the deals probably involved corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN).
"The unfair deals were certainly obtained through nepotistic practices," he said.
Fattah said Perhutani was seeking to cancel the swap deal with PT Kapuk Naga Asri and cement producer PT Indocement Tunggal Prakasa, two companies in the Salim Group.
Under the deals, the two companies were allowed to acquire 1,086.95 hectares and 860 hectares of land in West Java from Perum Perhutani by providing the same size of land plots.
Fattah said his company also wanted to cancel its swap deal with PT Bukit Jonggol Asri, a consortium set up by Soeharto's second son Bambang Trihatmodjo with Kaestindo Group, because the latter had not fulfilled its obligation to provide 8,300 hectares of forest area in exchange for Perhutani's 3,100 hectare site used for a 30,000-hectare township project.
Perhutani is also in the process of canceling swap deals with Semen Cibinong, owned by businessman Hashim Djojohadikusumo, PT Semen Makmur Indonesia, a company linked to Bambang and PT Gunung Mas Alam Semesta, which is owned by Soeharto's son-in-law Indra Rukmana, PT Kusuma Raya Utama and PT Selo Adi Wibowo.
Fattah said most deals stated the land acquired by private companies from Perhutani would be replaced by the same amount of land.
He said that the one-to-one swap deal with the eight companies was unfair because all of Perhutani's land involved in the deals would be used for business purposes.
According to a government regulation, Fattah said the compensation ratio was 1:1 if the land acquired from Perhutani would be used for public facilities.
But if land will be used for "strategic projects", the ratio is 1:2, meaning twice as much land should be given to replace the acquired land.
If land acquired from Perhutani will be used for commercial purposes, the swap ratio is between a 1:3 and 1:27 ratio, meaning for every square meter of land acquired, the companies receiving land must provide 3 to 27 square meters in another area.
Fattah said Perhutani was powerless to do anything at the time because it had to obey the minister of forestry and comply with the transactions of state land. The minister dealt directly with the private companies.
The Ministry of Forestry and Plantation canceled Perhutani's deals in August with PT Pertiwi Lestari and PT Mandara Permai, companies owned by businessman Anthony Salim of the Salim Group, due to unfairness.
Fattah said that under the deals, the two companies replaced land in West Java swapped with Perhutani with the same amount of land.
"But audits conducted by the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP) showed that the swap deals should have been based on a 1:27 ratio, meaning the two firms should have provided 27 square meters for each square meter taken from Perhutani," he said. (gis)