House Commission II Backs Additional Border Posts: For Sovereignty and Welfare

President Prabowo Subianto is set to add more cross-border posts (PLBN) in the Kalimantan and Papua regions. Deputy Chairman of House Commission II Bahtra Banong spoke about the urgency of the PLBN construction. “The urgency of building PLBNs goes far beyond defence and security aspects. Indeed, safeguarding national sovereignty is the primary function of border areas. However, under President Prabowo’s development paradigm, securing the borders must go hand in hand with improving the welfare of the communities living there,” Bahtra told reporters on Tuesday (30/6/2026). According to him, there are several reasons why building PLBNs is critically important. Bahtra stated the first reason is that the border is the front face of the Indonesian nation. “The first impression neighbouring countries have of Indonesia is seen from how we develop our border areas. Therefore, PLBNs must become symbols of a modern, sovereign, well-organised state capable of providing the best services to the community,” Bahtra said. Secondly, he continued, PLBNs must become new nodes of economic growth. With improved connectivity, border areas can develop into centres for trade, logistics, tourism, and cross-border economic activities that provide direct benefits to local communities. “Thirdly, PLBN construction is an instrument for equitable national development. President Prabowo wants to ensure that development is not only concentrated in big cities but also reaches the frontier regions so that border communities receive public services, infrastructure, and economic opportunities equal to other areas,” he added. Fourthly, many border areas still lack a PLBN, meaning the movement of people and goods at several points still occurs through unofficial and difficult-to-monitor routes. “This condition has the potential to be exploited for narcotics smuggling, illegal trade, and various other transnational crimes. Therefore, adding PLBNs is important so that all cross-border activities take place through official gates under state supervision,” Bahtra explained. Bahtra views the construction of PLBNs as a long-term strategic investment. According to him, the state is not only present to guard territorial boundaries but also to deliver prosperity, open economic opportunities, improve public services, and strengthen the sense of justice for border communities. Bahtra added that Indonesia is a very vast country with a land border length of approximately 3,100 kilometres, bordering Malaysia for about 2,004 kilometres, Papua New Guinea for about 824 kilometres (from Jayapura to Merauke), and Timor Leste for about 268.8 kilometres. “With these geographical conditions, the existence of around 15 existing PLBNs is certainly still inadequate. Therefore, adding PLBNs is a strategic necessity so that the state is increasingly able to provide services, supervision, and development evenly in border areas,” he stated. Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian confirmed that Prabowo will build more PLBNs. Construction is planned at several points in Kalimantan and Papua. “Currently, we only have 15 cross-border posts, we still need more on the borders of West Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, there is one point bordering Sarawak, then in North Kalimantan there are still more like Long Nawang, then Long Midang,” Tito said at the parliamentary complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday (29/6). Besides Kalimantan, Tito said the government will add PLBNs in Indonesia’s border areas with Papua New Guinea. He noted that currently, cross-border posts on the Papua border only exist at Skouw, Yetetkun, and Sota.