Indonesia must not lose to forest 'sucker' mafia: Attorney General
“The state must not lose to the mafia who are thirsty to suck the wealth of Indonesian forest for their own interests,” Burhanuddin said.
The Attorney General explained that Indonesia is blessed with so much strategic capital, including abundant natural resources, a crucial geopolitical position, and a strong demographic bonus.
However, within the global economic architecture, Indonesia is still often in a less than optimal position.
“As a supplier of raw materials and a consumer market, added value and strategic benefits flow largely abroad,” he noted.
This situation, he said, indicates that the management of national resources has not yet provided optimum benefits for the welfare of the people.
Therefore, he continued, the state is constitutionally responsible for realizing social welfare through an active role in managing national protection and interests.
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In this context, he argued, law enforcement cannot be understood as merely a repressive instrument, but must also be positioned as part of state policy to achieve social justice and public welfare.
Burhanuddin emphasized law enforcement as necessary to maintain national stability by taking firm action against those who misuse state forest areas.
“We ensure that forests, as God’s gift owned by the Indonesian nation, must be managed and preserved for the benefit of the people, not just for the benefit of a few groups,” he concluded.
This Friday, the PKH Task Force officially handed over Rp11.42 trillion (US$649.5 million) in recovered funds to Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa for deposit into the state treasury.
The funds recovered from administrative fines and state asset seizures will be used to improve schools, housing, and other infrastructure across Indonesia.
In addition to the recovered funds, the PKH Task Force handed over more than five million hectares of forest area land that had been successfully reclaimed to the state.
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Translator: Nadia Putri Rahmani, Yashinta Difa