Soeharto-linked timber firms told to abide by forestry laws

JAKARTA (JP): Newly appointed Minister of Forestry and Plantations Muslimin Nasution has warned timber companies with links to former president Soeharto to abide by the existing forestry regulations or face losing their logging contracts.

Muslimin said yesterday that any concessionaires -- including several giant groups which hold concessions thanks to connections to Soeharto's family -- which violated regulations should be punished.

"No special treatment will be given to any parties."

Muslimin said the ministry was compiling data on names and operations of all forest-concession holders in the country.

"The names of all forests concessionaires will be collected and will be announced transparently to the public as soon as possible," he said.

He said strict punishment would be meted out to companies found to have violated the sustainable forest management regulations, including those with ties to Soeharto.

"If those companies want to continue business in the forests, they should follow fair and sound practices."

Muslimin said his ministry was also collecting information on the names of timber and plantation companies and their owners who primarily relied on the burning method in clearing land.

"The current data only shows names of companies but not their owners' names. The data should be reviewed by adding the name of the people behind those companies," he said.

The government first began to award forest concessions to private companies through the 1971 Forestry Law, which granted concessionaires the sole right to exploit and cultivate forests in their concession area.

Private concessions -- which cover over 61 million hectares of forest areas -- are mostly in the hands of 50 leading groups, including Kalimanis Group owned by Mohammad "Bob" Hasan, Barito Pacific Timber owned by Prajogo Pangestu, Djajanti Group of Sujono Varinata, PT Alas Kesuma owned by Handjaja and Nana Suparna and Mercu Buana Group owned by Probosutedjo, Soeharto's half-brother.

Other leading groups are PT Benua Indah, Sumalindo Lestari Jaya (a subsidiary of the giant Astra Group), Bumi Raya Utama Group, Surya Dumai Group and Tanjung Raya Group.

Sources said most of the forest concessions owned by the 50 leading groups were partly owned by Soeharto's family.

Informed sources at the ministry said Soeharto's children and their cronies, such as timber tycoons Bob Hasan and Prajogo Pangestu, enjoyed exclusive rights to a number of business activities in the forestry sector.

A report last year said several giant companies, including Hasan's International Timber Corporation Indonesia and Prajogo's Sumalindo, were allegedly to blame for practicing burning of forests to clear land, which resulted in the forest fire disaster last year. (gis)