Sales Of Ex-HGU Land PTPN II Called A Form Of Systematic Agrarian Crime

JAKARTA Secretary of Founder of Indonesian Audit Watch (IAW) Iskandar Sitorus called on the Attorney General's Office and the North Sumatra High Prosecutor's Office (Kejati) to take firm action against the practice of illegally selling and selling illegal land of former Cultivation Rights (HGU) PT Perkebunan Nusantara II (PTPN II). He emphasized that the sale of the country's land is a serious violation that must be thoroughly investigated so that it does not happen again in the future.

"The country's land is sold, the people are abandoned. It is time for the public to help the prosecutor's office by opening a list of ex-HGU land that was sold or transferred illegally by PTPN II," said Iskandar in Jakarta, Monday, November 3.

According to him, similar cases did not only occur in North Sumatra, but also in a number of other areas including West Java. He considered that this deviation was an agrarian crime that damaged the ideals of agrarian reforms.

Tnah adalah kehiduhan bangsa. Namun di Sumatera Utara, ribuan hektare tanah eks HGU yang seharusnya dikembalikan ke negara untuk program reforma agrarian justru berali tangan, katanya.

IAW noted various modes used in the practice of illegal buying and selling, ranging from covert transactions, fictitious operational cooperation, to transfer of assets through notaries without a valid legal basis. Based on the agency's data, the total indications of state land sold reached more than 2,000 hectares.

Iskandar explained that the Attorney General's Office had supervised this case and transferred it to the North Sumatra Prosecutor's Office for follow-up. He considered that the North Sumatra Prosecutor's Office had a strategic role because apart from being a law enforcer, it was also part of the Agrarian Reform Task Force (GTRA) in the province.

"The North Sumatra Prosecutor's Office is not only trying to save state losses, but also must carry out the function of agrarian reform so that land returns to the people," he said.

According to IAW, the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) since 2008 has recorded a pattern of irregularities in the management of the former HGU PTPN II land. From the results of the audit, it was found that around 2,150 hectares of land were controlled by third parties without legal basis, 1,500 hectares were leased without a permit, and 1,243 hectares were abandoned. The potential loss to the state due to this practice is estimated at IDR 1.8 trillion to IDR 3.4 trillion per year.

"Our audit results show that there is a systematic pattern of mastery and transfer of state land without legal basis which is repeated by PTPN II administrators and affiliated parties," said Iskandar.

IAW also highlighted a number of names and parties suspected of being involved in the practice of transferring assets. Iskandar questioned how the big transactions could be carried out quickly and used the same notary.

"All parties involved must be examined. Rapid transactions with the same notary are clearly unnatural and violate the principle of legal caution," he said.

Based on IAW records, a number of areas suspected of being the locations for illegal selling of ex-HGU land include Tanjung Morawa, Helvetia, Labuhan Deli, Deli Tua, Percut Sei Tuan, Patumbak, Sunggal, Batang Kuis, Bandar Klippa, and Tuntungan. Some of them have now turned into commercial areas and elite housing without the legal HGU release process.

"Land is not a commodity. Land is a constitutional mandate, and that mandate should not be sold," said Iskandar.