Minister Of Transportation Will Revoke 20 PBPH Permits, Government Of Gaspol Benahi Governance Post-banjir Sumatra

Minister of Transportation Raja Juli Antoni (next left) and National Police Chief General Pol. Listyo Sigit Prabowo (front right) answered reporters' questions after a meeting at the Rupatama Building Police Headquarters, Jakarta, Thursday (4/12/2025) ANTARA/HO-Kemenhut

Minister of Forestry (Menhut) Raja Juli Antoni stated that the government would revoke about 20 permits for Forest Utilization Business Licensing (PBPH) covering an area of approximately 750 thousand hectares, including in flood-affected areas in Sumatra.

This step is part of a massive evaluation of forestry governance after the floods and landslides that hit several provinces in Sumatra.

Raja Juli Antoni explained that previously, in February 2025, the Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) had revoked 18 PBPH permits covering an area of 526,144 hectares, in line with President Prabowo Subianto's instructions.

"The Ministry of Forestry, with the approval of the President, will again revoke a permit of around 20 PBPHs with poor performance covering an area of approximately 750 thousand hectares throughout Indonesia, including in three provinces affected by flooding," he said in an official statement, Friday, December 5.

He emphasized that he would impose a moratorium on new PBPH permits, both in natural forests and forest plants, as an effort to temporarily stop granting permits to reduce the risk of forest destruction.

In addition, following the large number of logs that were dragged by floods and landslides in the Sumatra region, the Ministry of Transportation will conduct a thorough investigation. Raja Juli said that his party had coordinated with the National Police to investigate alleged violations, including the possibility of illegal logging practices.

"We have preliminary data from scanning drones in affected areas and utilizing AIKO software to find out the type of wood and reconstruct the origin of the material," he said.

According to him, the use of technology such as AIKO (Auto Wood Identification Tool) is very helpful in accelerating the identification of wood types, which will then become the basis for tracing the flow of permits to the potential involvement of certain parties.

Raja Juli menegaskan bahwa Kemenhut berkomitmen menjawab ketanyaran publik terkait dugaan hubungan antara kerusakan hutan dan bencana banjir yang terjadi, dengan membuka ruang investigasi dan penegakan hukum tanpa pandang bulu.