North Maluku Activist Escorts PT WKM Employee Criminalization Session At Central Jakarta District Court

JAKARTA - The trial of the alleged criminalization of two employees of PT Wana Kencana Mineral (WKM), Badminton Hafidz (Head of Mining Engineering) and Marsel Bambang (Mining Surveyor), was again held at the Central Jakarta District Court (PN), Wednesday, September 10. This trial agenda presents the Operational Director of PT Position, Arianto Dharma Putra, as a witness in front of the Chairman of the Sunoto Panel of Judges.

Judge Sunoto immediately mentioned the cooperation agreement between PT Position and PT WKM, PKS No. 1 WKS Pos 2024 dated February 12, 2004 and addendum 153. "The question is, the agreement gives the right to mine or only use the road?" he asked.

Arianto emphasized that the cooperation is limited to building and road maintenance. "So only construction and road updating are used together for road access," he replied. However, when the judge confirmed the Minutes of Meeting (MOM) dated February 13, 2025, Arianto admitted that there was a mining activity of PT Position at the WKM-owned IUP. We are mining at PT WKM because it is in accordance with our cooperation. We recognize the law that justifies PT WKM," he said.

Kaligis OC Rebuttal

The defendant's attorney, Otto Cornelis Kaligis, assessed that Arianto's testimony was full of narratives. "That's just a story that the witness made," he said. He said the prosecutor's accusation about installing stakes in the WKM IUP area did not make sense. "Strengthening the stakes at home itself that actually brought disaster," he said.

OC Kaligis assessed that the prosecutor's indictment had run away (obscuur libel). Civil cases, he said, were forced into criminal charges. He also emphasized that locus delicti are in East Halmahera, North Maluku, not Jakarta.

Furthermore, OC Kaligis highlighted the legality of the land. According to him, PT Position does not have an IUP at the location of the case, while PT WKM has legally controlled the area based on the Decree of the Governor of North Maluku No. 299/KPTS/MU/2016 covering an area of 24,700 hectares. He even said PT Position had admitted to clearing land at IUP WKM through MOM on February 13, 2025.

The police report against our client emerged after PT WKM first reported PT Position to the North Maluku Regional Police and Gakkum. This is clearly a form of criminalization," he concluded.

Public Spotlight And Moral Pressure

Outside the courtroom, dozens of activists from North Maluku were present to oversee the proceedings. They come without banners or attributes, asserting that this action is purely a moral escort so that the law runs transparently, without major capital interventions.

The Coordinator of North Maluku Care Activists, Yohannes Masudede, called their presence a reminder that the people are supervising. "The law must not be subject to a big name or money power. Our hope is that justice can be upheld," he said.

The activists voiced six demands, ranging from rejecting capital interventions, urging the independence of judges, to confirming that this case was not just a business dispute. "This is a matter of the pride of the people of North Maluku and the upholding of the law in this country," said Yohannes.

They promised to continue to oversee until the final verdict, making this case a test of justice: whether the law is in favor of the truth, or subject to corporate power.