The Issue Of 200 Indonesian Islands Is Amazingly Traded, KKP: We Have Nothing To Do With It

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) has opened its voice regarding the statement by the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) which said hundreds of small Indonesian islands were traded.

Secretary of the Directorate General of Marine Management and Marine Space of the KKP Kusdiantoro emphasized that his party was not involved in the sale issue.

"What is certain is that we (KKP) have nothing to do with the sale of islands. Because in the Minister of KP Regulation, we are just a small and very small island arrangement," Kusdiantoro told reporters, quoted Wednesday, July 31.

Based on the applicable regulations, Kusdiantoro said, the KKP only has the authority to regulate islands that are less than 100 square kilometers, aka very small.

Therefore, he said, if the private sector wants to take advantage of small islands, they need to have permission from the central government as well.

"Moreover, PMA must come from the center. So, it is impossible for him to make legal sales, yes, because the permit is from the center for those under 100 square kilometers," he said.

Kusdiantoro explained, from islands measuring 100 square kilometers, the use of 70 percent of the island is still the government's right to be used as a green space. Meanwhile, the remaining 30 percent can only be utilized by investors.

"So, we have mitigated the impact as much as possible," he said.

As for islands that measure above 100 to 2,000 square kilometers, he said, the recommendation remains with the central government and the permit is in the hands of the local government.

Sejalan juga, apabila investasi tersebut dari asing maka harus berdasarkan izin pemerintah pusat, sedangkan investasi lokal izinnya berada di tangan pemerintah daerah.

According to Kusdiantoro, this provision was issued to provide space for local governments, so that they can maintain the vulnerability of islands in Indonesia.

"We already really care about the area, but we limit the island which is below 100 square kilometers to the central government of its permit. Above 100 to 2,000 square kilometers if it is PMA, the permit from the center is above 2,000 square kilometers, all of which are from the regions, because our budget for resistance to the impact is very small," he said.

Furthermore, he revealed that currently the central government has just issued a PMA permit for 22 islands. In detail, 18 islands for recreation such as marine tourism, 3 islands for solar power plants and one more island are used for integrated industrial areas.

"The use of the 22 islands has been checked in detail for permits. All islands are under 100 square kilometers," said Kusdiantoro.

In addition, he said that 17,240 islands out of a total of 17,508 islands in Indonesia had been named and registered with the United Nations (UN). This means that 99.25 percent of all islands in Indonesia have been named.

Previously, the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) stated that around 200 small islands in Indonesia had been traded until 2023. The majority of the islands that were privatized were in DKI Jakarta and North Maluku.

Head of the BRIN Political Research Center Athiqah Nur Alami said this data was obtained by BRIN from various non-profit organizations. "A total of 200 islands are mostly located in DKI Jakarta and North Maluku," said Athiqah Nur Alami as quoted by Antara.