Prabowo in NTT: Is It True That People Here Often Burn Forests?

President Prabowo Subianto has said he once lived in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) during his youth. He remarked that people in NTT not infrequently clear land by burning forests.

He made the comments while chairing a coordination meeting on earthquake response held in Nagekeo, NTT, on Wednesday (26/8/2026).

“The problem here is that the trees have been greatly reduced. If I am not mistaken, for a long time now, the people here have also burned forests a lot, right? Is that correct? Yes, I remember it well, I know it,” Prabowo said.

Prabowo revealed that he lived for a long time in NTT during his youth. According to him, the problem needs to be addressed by educating the people so that forest fires can be avoided.

“When I was young, I also spent a long time in these areas. That is the problem. So our people must be given education. Clearing land must not be done by burning. But all right, that is indeed a problem. This area used to be dense with forest,” he said.

Still in the meeting, he again raised the issue that land burning in NTT is also carried out for hunting purposes. NTT Governor Melkiades Laka Lena, who was present at the meeting, confirmed Prabowo’s statement.

“So thank you for your input, and in turn I would also like to convey something. Because as I said earlier, I also know the local cultures here. Clearing land, they burn. Sometimes for hunting, they burn. Is that true? Correct?” Prabowo said.

“True, true,” Melki replied.

Prabowo stressed that his administration will change this. He also brought up NTT’s reputation for its abundance of sandalwood trees.

“All right, it is fine, we will change this, we are brave enough. This is the most famous region — sandalwood comes from here. Is that right? The whole world seeks sandalwood. This region is highly promising; Indonesia’s regions are highly promising,” he said.

It is known that Prabowo visited Nagekeo, NTT, to inspect the earthquake response today. Officials in attendance included Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia, State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, Deputy TNI Commander General Tandyo Budi Revita, National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, and Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Lieutenant General Suharyanto.