BANDA ACEH - Member of the House of Representatives who is also Chairman of the House of Representatives Honorary Court (MKD) Nazaruddin Dek Gam asked Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian to immediately return the four islands belonging to Aceh that have been given to North Sumatra.
"I ask the Minister of Home Affairs to immediately return the island to Aceh Province," said Nazaruddin Dek Gam, in Banda Aceh, Wednesday, June 11, as reported by ANTARA.
The dispute over four islands in the Aceh Singkil region between Aceh and North Sumatra has been going on for a long time. Both claim ownership.
The four islands are Panjang Island, Lipan Island, Mangkir Gadang Island, and Mangkir Kepek Island.
Then, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued Decree Number 300.2.2-2138 of 2025 concerning the Provision and Update of Codes and Data on Government and Island Administration Areas, set for April 25, 2025.
The Ministry of Home Affairs' decision to determine the administrative status of the four islands as part of the Central Tapanuli Regency, North Sumatra Province.
However, the Aceh Government is currently still trying to advocate for the return of the four islands back into the Aceh region.
Nazaruddin Dek Gam criticized the Ministry of Home Affairs' decision to include four Acehnese islands in the administrative area of North Sumatra Province, and must be returned to Aceh immediately.
He also ensured that the people who lived on the four islands had always been identified as Acehnese population. "I make sure that from the first the people there have had Aceh ID cards," he said.
According to him, the Ministry of Home Affairs' decision could cause a commotion between the two neighboring provinces. Moreover, Aceh has strong enough evidence of ownership of the four islands.
"There is all the evidence, so indeed the island is in the Aceh region, there is a basis, not just claims, so there is no basis for the island to enter North Sumatra," said Nazaruddin Dek Gam.
For information, based on the Aceh Government report, the process of changing the status of the four islands has taken place before 2022, and has received several coordination meetings and field surveys by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
During the verification process first, the Aceh Government together with a team from the Ministry of Home Affairs have gone directly to the location to conduct a review of the four islands. As well as involving the Government of North Sumatra, Central Tapanuli, and the Government of Aceh Singkil.
In the verification, the Aceh Government showed various authentic evidences, including physical infrastructure, ownership documents, and other supporting photos.
Including evidence of a map of agreement between the Governor of Aceh and the Governor of North Sumatra witnessed by the Minister of Home Affairs in 1992. The map shows a sea boundary line indicating that the four islands are included in the Aceh region.
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