President: Forest Task Force curbs tin smuggling, boosts SOE profits
President Prabowo Subianto has expressed his appreciation for the performance of the Forest Area Order Task Force (Satgas PKH), which has successfully regulated hundreds of illegal mines and curbed tin smuggling.
“Our brothers and sisters have also reclaimed illegal mines covering 14,000 hectares, and from those thousands of hectares, we have taken control of hundreds of mines. In Bangka Island, tin smuggling has been mitigated and reduced. Some still slip through, but we have dealt with them firmly,” said President Prabowo during the symbolic handover of fines and the reclamation of forest areas at the Attorney General’s Office building in Jakarta on Tuesday.
He highlighted the extraordinary impact of the measures taken by Satgas PKH, including the ability to support a surge in profits for the state-owned enterprise (SOE) PT Timah. Previously loss-making, PT Timah has seen its profits increase by 900 per cent within one year.
Furthermore, Satgas PKF has contributed approximately Rp52 trillion from fines, taxes, and non-tax state revenue (PNBP) resulting from the reclamation of forest areas.
The President noted that the achievements of Satgas PKH serve as a positive example for other companies and institutions to reform and clean up their operations. “I am very proud; I can now say that following the example pioneered by Satgas PKH, other institutions and state-owned enterprises have begun to clean themselves up. Those who do not wish to clean themselves up are only waiting for their time,” he remarked.
The Head of State also encouraged individuals involved in such illegal activities to become justice collaborators and return the proceeds of corruption.
During the handover on Tuesday, it was also announced that 259,230.73 hectares of plantation and mining areas have been reclaimed. Of this amount, 140,762 hectares of former plantation land have been handed over to the Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) to be managed by Agrinas Palma Nusantara. Additionally, 118,256.74 hectares falling within conservation and protected forest areas will undergo reforestation under the coordination of the Ministry of Forestry, while 211.95 hectares from mining activities have also been returned to the Ministry.
In total, Satgas PKF has reclaimed forest areas covering 6,206,212.14 hectares used for plantations and 14,633.79 hectares used for mining activities.