InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – On September 19, 2025, President Prabowo issued Government Regulation Number 45 of 2025 (PP 45/2025) concerning amendments to Government Regulation Number 24 of 2021 (PP 24/2021), which essentially regulates the imposition of administrative fines on business actors operating without permits in forest areas.
The amendments primarily focus on augmenting the role and authority of the Forest Area Management Task Force (Satgas PKH), which was previously only regulated by Presidential Regulation No. 5 of 2025. Among the most striking changes is positioning the Satgas PKH as a "superbody" agency with authority equal to the Minister of Forestry in enforcing regulations against palm oil plantations within forest areas.
In the previous PP 24/2021, the authority to designate the legal subjects of business actors operating without permits in forest areas, identify and validate field data, calculate fines, collect fines, and implement seizures and government coercion was fully vested in the Ministry of Forestry.
Under PP 45/2025, the Minister of Forestry’s authority is no longer absolute but is optional. This is stated in many amended articles, such as Article 6 Paragraph (1), which states: “The inventory of data and information on business activities already developed within the forest area that do not have permits in the forestry sector shall be carried out by the Minister of Forestry and/or the Forest Area Management Task Force.”
The inclusion of the phrase “and/or” in PP 45/2025 is found in numerous amended articles. This indirectly suggests that the presence of the Satgas PKH has "amputated" the authority of the Minister of Forestry regarding palm oil enforcement in forest areas.
A pressing public question is why President Prabowo appears to be giving a "red carpet" and extensive authority to the Satgas PKH, which is predominantly staffed by personnel with military backgrounds. Is this policy based on mature analysis, acknowledging the Ministry of Forestry's perceived low competence in executing actions against palm oil businesses in forest areas, such that the presence of the military as the front line will be more effective in field execution, or is this policy solely intended to give a role and space to the military to perform non-war functions?
Pressure on Business Actors
Another aspect of PP 45/2025 that has been widely reported is the change in the formula for calculating the administrative fine imposed on palm oil business actors in forest areas. In the previous PP 24/2021, the forest cover density was one factor in determining the fine amount; however, PP 45/2025 removes this and directly sets Rp 25 million as the net income per hectare per year as the multiplier factor for calculating the fine.
This has caused tremendous anxiety among palm oil business actors, including community smallholders within and around forest areas in Indonesia, considering that around 25,863 villages are potentially affected by the Satgas PKH enforcement.
Public scrutiny heightens further as PP 45/2025 also deletes articles that gave business actors the opportunity to pursue licensing after paying the fine to the government. Every palm oil business actor will be subject to a fine based on the formula set out in the appendix of PP 45/2025, with collection carried out by the Satgas PKH.
If the business actor fails to pay the fine within 30 days of billing, the Satgas PKH will proceed with a series of actions, including asset seizure, blocking of financial access, and preventing the business actor from traveling abroad, followed by an auction of assets to cover the fine payment.
If the palm oil business actor settles the fine payment, the Satgas PKH will retake control of the land, which will then be followed by the release of the forest area and/or the designation of the status as state-owned property, with management subsequently handed over to the State-Owned Enterprise, PT Agrinas Palma Nusantara.
This fundamental difference from PP 24/2021 means that business actors lose the opportunity to re-manage their palm oil estates, even after paying the fine to the government. This situation creates immense pressure for business actors who initially intended to operate legally, especially in cases where the actor was a victim of a change in area status from non-forest to forest due to changes in provincial or national spatial planning.
Lack of Support for the Community
Although PP 45/2025 does not change the provisions in PP 24/2021 that regulate the procedures for resolving the business activities of communities living in and/or around forest areas, in some cases, the Satgas PKH applies the same treatment to company-owned estates and community-owned land.
In fact, Articles 41 and 42 clearly set out exceptions for community palm oil smallholders, provided they have lived in and/or around the forest area for at least 5 consecutive years and occupy the forest area for palm oil cultivation of no more than 5 hectares.
If President Prabowo truly sides with the interests of rural communities, there should also be a task force to facilitate the acceleration of forest arrangement for communities through social forestry, Agrarian Reform Object Land (TORA), or changes in forest area designation and function, as stipulated in Article 42 of PP 24/2021 before the amendment to PP 45/2024.
The absence of a clear bias towards accelerating the resolution of community estates in forest areas is a major blow to Prabowo's policy, who has often spoken of upholding Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution, but is negligent in practice. The remaining hope may lie with the parliament, which represents the people. (*)
By: Ahma Zazali, SH., MH. / Managing Partner of AZ Law Office & Conflict Resolution Center / Chairman of the Center for Law and Conflict Resolution (PURAKA)
Disclaimer: The article expresses the personal opinion of the author and is entirely their responsibility, with no affiliation to InfoSAWIT.
