Hashim Denies President Prabowo Has Millions of Acres of Palm Oil Plantation

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Gerakan Kristiani Indonesia Raya (GEKIRA) Hashim Djojohadikusumo has denied the issue that says President Prabowo Subianto has millions of hectares of oil palm plantations in Sumatra and other regions in Indonesia. He emphasized that the accusation was not true and was a slander that was widely circulated on social media.

The statement was made by Hashim when he gave a speech at the 17th Anniversary celebration of GEKIRA at the Nusantara Ballroom NT Tower, Jakarta, Sunday, December 21.

"It's not true. Mr. Prabowo doesn't have a single hectare of oil palm land, in Sumatra or anywhere else in Indonesia," said Hashim in front of cadres and invited guests.

Hashim assessed that the issue of ownership of oil palm plantations was deliberately blown up to damage President Prabowo's reputation, especially in the midst of the government's efforts to regulate the natural resources sector, including handling illegal oil palm plantations and land ownership by the state.

According to Hashim, the narrative cannot be separated from the interests of certain groups who feel disturbed by the enforcement policy. "This is not a healthy criticism, but a slander that is systematically spread," he said.

On that occasion, Hashim, who also serves as the President's Special Envoy for Energy and Climate, revealed that attacks on President Prabowo on social media occur almost every day with various accusations that he considers misleading the public.

"Every day on social media it is filled with slander. There are various accusations, ranging from being said to have an oil palm plantation, to controlling hackers, to being accused of being responsible for various natural disasters," he said.

He reminded the public to be more critical in responding to information in the digital space. According to him, the flow of unverified information has the potential to form a public opinion that is wrong. "Social media must be approached with caution. There are many lies and hate speech," said Hashim.

Hashim also asked GEKIRA cadres and the Gerindra Party to actively straighten out the information circulating by consistently and responsibly conveying facts to the public.

"Please spread the truth. Don't let slander become public consumption every day," he concluded.