Prabowo: Forest Task Force Savings to Fund Teacher Salary Increases
President Prabowo Subianto has stated that the national wealth successfully recovered by the Forest Area Law Enforcement Task Force (Satgas PKH) will be utilised to improve education and health facilities, as well as to increase the salaries of teachers and civil servants (PNS).
During a ceremony at the Attorney General’s Office in Jakarta on Tuesday, marking the handover of fines and the reclamation of forest areas, President Prabowo emphasised that the rescue of 6.2 million hectares of forest from illegal plantation and mining activities has successfully reduced state losses by nearly Rp400 trillion.
“The millions of hectares you have saved, the illegal mines you have closed and reclaimed for the state—this is the nation’s savings. You are increasing the nation’s savings for the future of our children and grandchildren. We will have the funds to raise the salaries of teachers, all civil servants, judges, prosecutors, and police officers,” said Prabowo.
He highlighted that all aid and development programmes require funding, which has previously been unable to enter the state treasury because it was being exploited illegally.
“Our task remains heavy and the journey is long, but victory is already in sight. This Task Force has worked for two years and has already contributed Rp52 trillion back to the state,” he noted.
The Head of State expressed optimism that these results will continue to be increased to ensure that national wealth is truly utilised for the welfare of the people.
During the handover on Tuesday, it was also announced that 259,230.73 hectares of land had been reclaimed from plantation and mining activities. Of this total, 140,762 hectares of former plantation land were handed over to the Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) to be managed by Agrinas Palma Nusantara, while 118,256.74 hectares falling within conservation and protected forest areas will undergo reforestation under the coordination of the Ministry of Forestry. Additionally, 211.95 hectares from mining activities were also returned to the Ministry of Forestry.