Attorney General: The State Cannot Lose to the Mafia of Sucking Forest Wealth

Attorney General ST Burhanuddin/ANTARA

JAKARTA - Attorney General ST Burhanuddin as Deputy Chairman I of the Director of the Forest Area Control Task Force (Satgas PKH) emphasized that the state must not lose to the mafia "sucker" of Indonesia's forest wealth.

"The state must not lose to the mafia who are thirsty to suck the wealth of Indonesian forests to enrich themselves," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Friday, April 10.

The Attorney General explained that Indonesia was endowed with a large strategic capital in the form of natural resource wealth, a very important geopolitical position, and a strong demographic bonus.

However, in the global economic architecture, Indonesia is still often in a position that is not optimal.

"As a supplier of raw materials and a consumption market, while the added value and strategic benefits flow more abroad," he continued.

This condition, he said, shows that the management of national resources has not fully provided maximum benefits for the welfare of the people.

Therefore, he said, the state is constitutionally responsible for realizing social welfare through an active role in managing protection and national interests.

In this context, according to him, law enforcement cannot be understood as a mere repressive instrument, but must also be placed as part of the state's policy in realizing social justice and public welfare.

Therefore, he emphasized that the law must be enforced and that strict law enforcement is needed to maintain national stability, namely by taking action against parties who misuse state forest areas.

"We ensure that forests as God's gift, are a gift owned by the Indonesian nation, must be managed and preserved for the benefit of the people, not only for the benefit of a few groups," he said.

This Friday, the PKH Task Force officially handed over Rp11.4 trillion in money, the result of the crackdown in the form of administrative fines and the rescue of state finances to the state treasury.

In addition, the PKH Task Force also handed over more than five million hectares of forest area land that had been successfully recaptured to the state.