Praised, Police Chief’s Move Seen as Shifting the Sumatra Flood Narrative Beyond Weather Factors

Public Discussion entitled Reading The Response Of The National Police Chief In Investigating Sumatra Floods' In The Semanggi Area, Jakarta, Wednesday 10 December 2025

JAKARTA - The Linguistic Archipelago (Lilin Nusantara) has expressed its appreciation to the National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo and the National Police for the quick steps in dealing with floods and landslides in several areas of Sumatra. According to Lilin Nusantara, the action of the National Police Chief which ordered a thorough investigation into the factors causing flooding, including the findings of large amounts of logs, is an important development in the way the state reads and responds to ecological disasters.

This was conveyed by the Director of Lilin Nusantara, Mas Uliatul Hikmah, at the launch of the Lilin Nusantara and a public discussion entitled "Reading the Response of the National Police Chief in Investigating the Sumatra Flood" in the Semanggi area, Jakarta, Wednesday, December 10.

Uliatul explained that the National Police Chief's move to show disaster management does not stop at extreme weather reasons, but also touches the law enforcement side on economic practices that exceed the carrying capacity of the environment, such as illegal activities that damage forests and watersheds.

He said there were two important messages in the instructions of the National Police Chief. First, the state is here to accompany the affected citizens. Second, the state is willing to trace traces of crime that increase ecological vulnerability.

"In the perspective of discourse, this marks an important shift from understanding natural disasters to events with perpetrators, motives, and legal consequences," said Uliatul.

Lilin Nusantara also assessed the steps taken by the National Police Chief as a tangible manifestation of the institutional reform of the Police. Uliatul emphasized that quick actions such as helping evacuate, maintaining the order of the affected areas, and investigating illegal practices behind the floods, showed that Polri reform was present in the form of real work, not just a slogan or policy document.

However, Lilin Nusantara reminded the importance of critical vigilance against the language used in the official narrative. "The appreciation of the performance of the Police must be in line with the demands of structural reforms, including improvements in forest governance, law enforcement against the main perpetrators of environmental crimes, strengthening the monitoring mechanism, and involvement of the local community in the preparation of post-disaster policies," he explained.

He emphasized that public discussion forums are important spaces to test, strengthen, as well as criticize the country's narrative. Therefore, Lilin Nusantara ensured that she was not present to impose a verdict, but sharpen public awareness in reading the dynamics of policies so that support for Polri reform grew from consistency between words and actions.

Lilin Nusantara also encourages cross-discipline collaboration between law enforcement, environmental experts, academics, and civil society, so that the handling of ecological disasters in Sumatra does not stop at an emergency response, but is a momentum to improve the way the state manages its citizens' living spaces.

In the same event, the General Chairperson of the People's Front on June 1, Martin Siahaan, also appreciated the seriousness of the National Police Chief in ensuring order during the flood period. He assessed that the lack of looting and the steps taken by the National Police to evacuate residents, provide assistance, and began investigating companies suspected of destroying forests were clear evidence of the Police's quick response.

"I support the National Police Chief and the National Police to thoroughly investigate these companies," said Martin.

Lilin Nusantara is known to be a cross-disciplinary study and advocacy organization that focuses on analyzing critical discourse on the dynamics of national policies and public issues. This organization examines how languages, narratives, and political communication form public perceptions of strategic issues.