Iqbal Guarantees Free Treatment for Santri Burn Victims

The Provincial Government of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) has confirmed that all medical costs for two santri victims of an alleged arson at an Islamic boarding school in Central Lombok will be fully covered. NTB Governor Lalu Muhamad Iqbal stressed that the victims must receive healthcare and education without hindrance, while urging that similar cases not recur.

Iqbal said both santri are now receiving medical treatment at the NTB Provincial General Hospital (RSUD). Since information about the case was received last June, the NTB Provincial Government has coordinated with the Regional Leadership Coordination Forum (Forkopimda) to ensure the victims’ handling proceeds swiftly and in stages.

‘As soon as we learned of this, we immediately communicated with Forkopimda so that in handling it, albeit in stages, our colleagues in Central Lombok, including the Police Chief, moved quickly to deal with it. Now the province is also directly involved,’ Iqbal stated in Mataram on Wednesday (15/7/2026).

Iqbal confirmed that all treatment costs are being covered so as not to burden the victims’ families. The NTB Provincial Government has also conveyed this to the leadership of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI).

‘We have already informed the DPR RI leadership that all treatment costs will be borne by the RSUD,’ Iqbal explained.

According to Iqbal, the two victims were previously treated at Bhayangkara Hospital Mataram for security reasons. Nevertheless, the RSUD NTB medical team remained on standby to manage the recovery process. Assistance is also being continuously channelled through the NTB Baznas, the Social Service, and the Central Lombok Regional Government.

Iqbal said the government’s current focus is not only on the victims’ physical recovery but also on ensuring their right to education is fulfilled. He emphasised that every pesantren or residential school administrator must promptly report any incident so that victim handling is not delayed.

‘The message I want to convey is that this serves as a collective lesson for all pesantren and residential schools in NTB. If we manage a residential school, then responsibility for all dynamics within it must be prioritised. If something like this happens, immediate handling and reporting is a form of responsibility so that the child’s right to proper care is not delayed,’ he explained.

Iqbal said the victims’ recovery must remain a priority even if a peace agreement between parties emerges. This is especially important as both victims are still junior high school students.

‘We have coordinated with the NTB Regional Office of the Ministry of Religious Affairs to ensure their education is guaranteed. Their schooling must not be neglected. We will strive by all means so that these children can return to school,’ he said.

Iqbal urged the public not to generalise the case to all Islamic boarding schools in NTB. According to him, the case is casuistic and does not reflect the governance of the thousands of pesantren in the region.

‘We have thousands of pesantren, so do not generalise. This is a casuistic problem. The rules and SOPs for managing pesantren actually already exist, but the oversight aspect needs to be strengthened together,’ Iqbal said.

He added that the NTB Provincial Government will optimise the Task Force for Handling Violence in Pesantren, which involves elements of Forkopimda, the Child Protection Agency (LPA), and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

‘The main task of this Task Force going forward is to ensure that the code of ethics in managing pesantren and all residential schools can be implemented strictly and in accordance with established SOPs,’ he concluded.