InfoSAWIT, PEKANBARU – Thousands of ex-transmigrant farmers across various regions are in a state of panic. Their palm oil plantations, certified with Land Ownership Rights (SHM) for decades, have suddenly been claimed as forest areas by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK). As a result, the land can no longer be used as bank collateral and does not qualify for the People's Palm Oil Rejuvenation (PSR) program.
Setiyono, Chairman of the Association of Smallholder Palm Oil Farmers (Aspekpir), stated that KLHK’s decision not only caused panic but also violated constitutional land rights. "We’ve had certificates for 30 years, and suddenly our land is declared a forest area. It feels like a heart attack," he said in an official statement received by InfoSAWIT on Saturday (24/5/2025).
He argued that the policy contradicts the 1999 Forestry Law (No. 41/1999), which mandates compensation if land rights are lost due to forest area designation. "The Basic Agrarian Law (UUPA) should take precedence, yet it’s being overridden by forestry regulations?" he added.
In Riau alone, over 40,000 hectares of ex-transmigrant farmers' land are affected. The Forest Area Control Task Force (Satgas PKH) has even begun marking boundaries without prior notice. One farmer, Priyono, expressed frustration as his plasma plantation from PTPN V was disqualified from the PSR program. "I’ve waited over three years, but because it’s now considered forest land, I can’t participate," he lamented.
A similar fate befell Syafrudin in Kampar, Riau. As a child of transmigrants from President Sukarno’s 1965 program, he noted his land was only certified in 1985. "How can certified land suddenly be claimed as forest? Is this a rule-of-law country or a forestry state?" he fumed.
The issue extends beyond Riau. In North Sumatra, plasma farmers in Asahan and Labuhanbatu face the same problem. Syarifudin Sirait said 44 plasma farmers in Pasir Mandoge now live in fear. "We’ve had SHM since 1992. How can it suddenly become forest area?"
Responding to this, forestry law expert Dr. Sadino from Al Azhar Indonesia University emphasized that land rights (SHM, HGU, HGB) are constitutional rights the state must protect. "Even if within forestry maps, the state cannot ignore citizens’ legal rights," he said.
Sadino traced the root issue to overlapping maps between ministries, citing the absence of a single national map as the cause of recurring agrarian conflicts. "Forestry maps only emerged in 1982, while land administration maps existed long before. We can’t rely solely on forestry maps," he stressed.
He further noted that the Constitutional Court, in rulings like MK No. 45/PUU-IX/2011 and MK No. 34/PUU-IX/2011, has limited the Forestry Minister’s authority to designate forest areas without considering land rights. "Now, Articles 110A and 110B of the Job Creation Law are being challenged in the Constitutional Court for disregarding citizens’ constitutional rights," he concluded.
Farmers hope the government won’t burden them with oppressive regulations. "Presidential regulations should resolve map overlaps, not incite panic," Setiyono asserted. (T2)
