Minister Of Forestry Pockets Sample Kayu Gelondongan To Be Identified

JAKARTA - Minister of Forestry (Menhut) Raja Juli Antoni said the investigation into the findings of logs washed away in flash floods in North Sumatra (North Sumatra), had not yet entered the stage of examination of the company or related parties, but samples from wood from affected locations had been taken for follow-up.

"Not yet at the examination stage, but the identification of legal subjects who may be involved has been carried out," he told the media at the National Police Headquarters, Thursday, November 4, 2025.

He said the investigation team was still investigating the source of the wood origin, whether it was related to illegal logging, land clearing for oil palm or mining, or from piles of wood that were pushed during landslides.

Tetapi, lanjutnya, kemungkinan terkaitan dengan pemegang hak atas tanah di kawasan Area Penggunaan Lain (APL), yang kerap menjadi percak praktik pencucian kayu.

"Does it come from illegal logging, clearing of oil palm or mining land, or stacked wood and then drifting during floods. Or from land rights holders in APL. This is one of the timber washing modes that we are currently investigating," he explained.

Furthermore, Raja Juli ensured that the investigation team had taken a number of wood samples from the affected locations. Initial examinations were carried out using wood anatomy identification technology to determine cutting traces.

"We have taken wood samples. There is simple technology to see if the anatomy of the wood is cut, driven by a bulldozer, or there are other defects," he explained.

From this analysis, said Raja Juli, investigators can identify initial indications such as logging locations or work patterns. However, all findings are still initial.

"That's just the initial indication. Later when it is complete and there is a conclusion, we will convey it to the public," he explained.

On the same occasion, National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo welcomed the formation of a joint task force in the investigation of logs.

According to him, Polri personnel have actually been down since the last few days to trace points suspected of being a source of wood.

"Therefore, we will conduct an in-depth investigation together with the team. In the past few days we have deployed personnel and we will later join a team from the Ministry of Forestry and if necessary, we will join other task forces that can join including PKH so that team work can be faster and we can inform immediately," he said.

He said the joint task force is expected to move quickly to identify the location of the origin of the wood and check potential violations in the affected areas. The results of the investigation will be immediately submitted to the public after the team works in the field.

"What is clear is that in the meantime what we can convey and in a short time I ask the team to also immediately move from upstream to downstream, especially in locations where we do find potentials that we must follow up because there are allegations of violations," concluded the listyo.