PALMOILMAGAZINE, PEKANBARU — Environmental advocates’ hopes that millions of hectares of seized palm oil plantations would be restored to their original forest function are fading. Instead of rehabilitation, the land now risks being “whitewashed” and legalized for business use by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) through changes to forestry regulations.
The controversy intensified after Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni issued Ministerial Regulation No. 20/2025, revising rules on forest planning and changes in forest designation and function. The regulation opens the door to the partial release of forest areas for existing palm oil plantations that have been reclaimed by the state.
Article 326A paragraph (1) states that palm oil plantations located within forest areas that have been taken back under state control may have their forest status released. The following paragraph specifies that such releases apply to forest areas handed over to SOEs.
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This policy has drawn sharp criticism from Abdul Aziz, Deputy Chairman of the Central Executive Board of Sawitku Masa Depanku (DPP-SAMADE). He argues the move contradicts the original narrative behind the seizure of palm oil plantations, which was framed as an effort to protect and restore forests.
“This is an extraordinary injustice. At the beginning, these plantations were taken over under the pretext of returning them to forest. In reality, they are being released into Other Land Use Areas (APL) for companies,” Abdul Aziz said in a statement received by Palmoilmagazine.com on Monday (29/12/2025).
According to Aziz, public support initially followed the seizures because people believed the state intended to restore ecological functions. With the new regulation, he says, the public has been systematically misled.
Millions of Hectares at Stake
Aziz acknowledged that the areas eligible for release are generally classified as Convertible Production Forest (HPK) and Permanent Production Forest (HP). However, if total seized palm oil plantations amount to around 4.08 million hectares, at least half could potentially be removed from forest status.
“If even half of that falls under HPK and HP, it means roughly two million hectares of forest area could be released. That’s not a small figure,” he said.
What concerns him most is that the release is intended for corporate use, even if managed by SOEs. “It is still business-oriented. The question is whether business interests are more important than environmental protection,” he added.
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Aziz also questioned the readiness of the SOEs appointed to manage the seized plantations. He noted that these entities are relatively new and often do not operate the land directly, instead outsourcing operations through operational cooperation schemes (KSO).
“As a result of these KSO arrangements, many social problems have emerged, even leading to bloodshed. If the land is eventually released from forest status anyway, why not grant rights to the previous operators? They have applied for release for years and were ignored,” he said.
Disputed Claims and Massive Fines
Criticism has also been directed at what Aziz calls a unilateral process in designating forest areas. He argues that many palm oil lands were claimed as forest areas without transparent proof of formal boundary-setting procedures.
“The forestry authorities only show forest area maps. Evidence of boundary demarcation, mapping, and formal designation has never been presented to the public,” he said.
Under Article 22 of Government Regulation No. 44/2004, if third-party rights remain during boundary-setting, those rights must be resolved, with formal documentation in the form of Boundary Delimitation Minutes (BATB) signed by all parties.
Yet once land is alleged to fall within forest areas, businesses are immediately hit with administrative fines deemed unreasonable. Government Regulation No. 45/2025 sets fines at IDR 25 million per hectare per year of production.
“If a plantation has been producing for 10 years, the fine reaches IDR 250 million per hectare. For 100 hectares, that’s IDR 25 billion. The land is seized, fines keep running, and businesses have almost no room to defend themselves,” Aziz said.
‘Not on the People’s Side’
Aziz concluded that current forestry policies increasingly drift away from public interests. He noted that not a single hectare of seized land has been allocated to local or indigenous communities who have long lived alongside palm oil plantations.
“If the state truly stood with the people, it could distribute the seized land. Four million hectares could support two million households if each received two hectares. But that has not happened,” he said.
He also highlighted the plight of smallholders and former transmigrants whose land has been claimed as forest area. Applications for land release to access the Smallholder Palm Oil Replanting (PSR) program often stall, with farmers instead directed to social forestry schemes that retain forest status.
“For companies, regulations can be changed easily. For ordinary people, the door is firmly shut,” he said.
At the end of his statement, Aziz urged the public to push for the revocation of Ministerial Regulation No. 20/2025 and called on the government to establish an independent team to review forest area designations.
“If it is truly forest, then restore it as forest. Do not legalize it for business. The state should stand in the middle—not roll out the red carpet for a select few,” he said. (P2)
