Viral Sale of Umang Island for Rp 65 Billion Prompts Banten Provincial Government to Conduct Immediate Inventory
The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) has sealed Umang Island in Pandeglang Regency, which went viral for being sold for Rp 65 billion and was found to lack management permits. The Banten Provincial Government will begin inventorying the 81 islands in its territory.
The Head of the Banten Marine and Fisheries Office, Agus Supriyadi, stated that the sealing is under KKP’s authority. However, following this discovery, the Provincial Government will start inventorying all islands in Banten.
“Target 50% coverage, hopefully all of them. Inventory, and we will also involve other parties, to see what it’s suitable for. Then we will offer and promote it. We will help with the permitting communication,” he said on Friday (17/4/2026).
The Provincial Government wants to ensure there are no more rule-breaking management practices, including suspected island sales. However, he also acknowledged limitations in operational facilities as a challenge.
“We only have one boat, and the operational costs are also high. That’s a constraint in the field,” he revealed.
Agus emphasised that the law does not allow individuals to own islands. People can only manage islands for a certain period.
“Islands cannot be privately owned. At most, only in the form of Business Use Rights (HGU) or management cooperation,” he said.
The Umang Island case is seen as a warning for local governments to be more active in monitoring coastal areas and small islands. They do not want to be caught off guard in managing marine regional assets.
“This becomes a trigger for us. How can we have territory but stay silent; there must be reports and supervision,” he said.
Previously, the Director General of Marine Spatial Management at KKP, Pung Nugroho Saksono, stated in a social media post that the island was offered for Rp 65 billion. Based on the examination results, the man familiarly called Ipunk said the island was managed individually through PT GSM.
“We found on social media that there was a sale of Umang Island. How can an island be sold? So the state is present there. Yesterday afternoon we sealed it again, and the examination results showed that the island was owned by an individual,” said Ipunk during a press conference at his office in Central Jakarta on Wednesday (15/4).
Ipunk said the manager claimed they never posted or collaborated with others to sell the island. He has asked for the post to be deleted from social media to prevent exploitation by other parties.
“We will conduct further investigation into the regulations and ownership. Don’t let it be advertised outside, and then exploited by parties, especially foreigners; this is dangerous,” added Ipunk.
Furthermore, they also found that the manager did not have permits from KKP. Ipunk said the resort and marine tourism business activities on Umang Island were run without the Marine Spatial Utilisation Activity Compliance Approval document (PKKPRL), recommendations for small island utilisation, and water tourism permits.
“We do not favour anyone. We do not tolerate violations, especially on small islands. The state has rules here where the management of small islands must not be arbitrary,” he added.