Palm Oil Plasma Dispute Of Simangambat Indigenous Peoples Rolls At Padangsidimpuan District Court

Illustration of oil palm plantations (ANTARA)

JAKARTA The dispute over plasma land has resurfaced in North Padang Lawas, North Sumatra, after the indigenous people of Simangambat demanded the right of a plasma plantation of 20 percent of the company's oil palm plantation area. The dispute that rolled out at the Padangsidimpuan District Court (PN) attracted public attention because it showed the high interest of the community in the mediation process.

The Secretary of the Founder of Indonesian Audit Watch (IAW), Iskandar Sitorus, assessed that this case marked the beginning of a change, where the state began to recognize people's right to plasma as a mandate of law, not just social bonuses from companies.

The state this time did not cover its ears. The Forest Area Control Task Force (PKH) and PT Agrinas Palma Nusantara began to open up, admitting that plasma is indeed the mandate of the law. This is a good start," said Iskandar, Friday, October 3rd

The demands of the Simangambat indigenous people began with the promise of oil palm plantation companies that never realized plasma obligations. Residents assess that over the years they have only been promised the distribution of gardens, but have never been realized.

This uncertainty sparked disappointment until finally in mid-2025 they filed a lawsuit with the Padangsidimpuan District Court, demanding the right to plasma as regulated in the law.

Plasma disputes are not new. Based on IAW's findings from the report of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) in the last two decades, the delay in plasma realization has reached an average of 7.8 to 10 years, even though the rules limit a maximum of only three years.

Only 12 percent of companies consistently distribute plasma, while partnership funds are often misallocated up to IDR 2.3 trillion. In addition, 45 percent of plasma land has not been certified and about 78 percent of technical coaching programs do not continue, making it prone to agrarian conflicts.

Some of the big names of palm oil companies are called IAW in plasma red records, including Sinar Mas, Lonsum, Torganda, Wilmar, First Resources, Asian Agri, Astra Agro, Surya Dumai, and Musim Mas.

Private companies are considered to often ignore plasma obligations, in contrast to PT Agrinas Palma Nusantara, which has begun to open a dialogue room even though the legal standing has not been fully completed.

In the mediation process at the Padangsidimpuan District Court, Agrinas asked for support from the DPR RI regarding regulations for accelerating the release of forest areas so that plasma obligations can be realized. According to IAW, residents' proposals, quite realistic, namely in the form of written commitments, gradual realization, and mutual supervision.

On the political side, support for plasma has also begun to strengthen. The chairman of the Riau DPRD, Kaderismanto, encouraged the formation of a Special Committee (Pansus Plasma 20 Percent) after many reports from the public. Pansus is our commitment to defend the people," he said.

Iskandar said, if Padangsidimpuan is a legal stage, then Riau becomes a political stage. Both show a new direction that plasma can no longer be ignored.

"The question is whether Padangsidimpuan and Riau will be the beginning of a new round of national plasma enforcement, or just a small note in the long history of oil palm betrayal," he said.

As a follow-up, IAW recommends five steps: open a national plasma database to be transparent, double the DPRD Plasma Special Committee model across provinces, impose license revocation sanctions for companies that are absent, conduct forensic audits of plasma funds, and provide freedom of cooperative farmers to cooperate without the company's control.

For IAW, plasma is the people's constitutional right, not the generosity of the corporation. Disputes that are now sticking out are considered an important momentum to fix the governance of national oil palm plantations.