As Indonesia’s Parliament advances the Agrarian Reform Bill, Sawit Watch is urging clearer rules on disputed plantation land, worker inclusion and mechanisms to resolve long-running conflicts in the palm oil sector.
PALMOILMAGAZINE, BOGOR — Indonesia’s House of Representatives is advancing deliberations on the Agrarian Reform Bill, with the bill’s provisions on disputed plantation land, redistribution beneficiaries and conflict resolution drawing particular attention from palm oil civil society groups.
The House’s Legislative Body, or Baleg, formally established a working committee, known as Panja, on Sept. 16 to begin substantive discussions with the government. The committee was formed as the bill entered the first-level deliberation stage.
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Sawit Watch has called for several provisions to be clarified, arguing that agrarian reform should address long-standing land conflicts in plantation areas, including large-scale palm oil estates.
The organization said the bill will play an important role in determining how Indonesia addresses land tenure, redistribution and unresolved agrarian conflicts. It has urged lawmakers to ensure that the legislation goes beyond administrative land reform and addresses the underlying structure of land control.
Sawit Watch Questions 20-Year Land Tenure Requirement
Achmad Surambo, executive director of Sawit Watch, said one area requiring attention is the provision governing the objects of agrarian reform.
“Article 30 of the draft bill includes former Cultivation Rights (HGU) land and areas affected by corporate-related conflicts among the potential objects of agrarian reform,” he said this in an official statement published by PalmOilMagazine on Monday (September 21, 2026).
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However, Sawit Watch has questioned a requirement that land must have been controlled continuously for 20 years. Surambo said such a requirement could be difficult to apply to communities involved in long-running agrarian disputes.
He also called for the bill to be aligned with developments following Constitutional Court Decision No. 181/PUU-XXII/2024.
In that ruling, issued in October 2025, the Constitutional Court partially granted a petition concerning provisions governing plantation activities in forest areas. The Court established a conditional exception for communities that have lived in forests for generations and whose activities are not intended for commercial purposes.
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Surambo also highlighted Article 44, calling for the phrase concerning “other rights under applicable laws and regulations” to be more clearly defined to prevent interpretations that could disadvantage farmers.
Sawit Watch further argued that the institutional requirements for beneficiaries of agrarian reform should be carefully formulated. According to Surambo, overly formal requirements could make it more difficult for community groups working at the local level to pursue land rights.
Palm Oil Plantation Workers Seek Recognition
Another issue raised during the discussion is the position of plantation workers in the agrarian reform process.
Zidane, a palm oil labor specialist at Sawit Watch, said agrarian reform has traditionally focused on landowning farmers and Indigenous communities, while plantation workers—including local and migrant workers—have received less attention in discussions on land redistribution.
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He called for Article 33 paragraph (4) letter i to be clarified so that plantation workers can be included among the potential beneficiaries of agrarian reform.
Dianto Arifin of the Central Kalimantan Indonesian Palm Oil Workers Union (SEPASI Kalteng) expressed a similar view. He said palm oil workers should be considered in land redistribution because their livelihoods are directly connected to the agrarian structure of plantation areas.
“Palm oil workers should be one of the subjects of land redistribution under this bill,” Dianto said.
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Yublina Oematan, chairwoman of the West Kalimantan Federation of Palm Oil Plantation Workers Unions (FSBKS), said plantation workers should not be viewed solely as wage earners.
In certain cases, she said, workers may have historical connections to land that later came under the control of plantation companies.
Yublina therefore called for the bill to provide room for recognition of the rights of local communities, Indigenous peoples, farmers and worker groups with historical ties to the land.
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BRAN Emerges as Key Issue in Bill
The institutional mechanism for resolving agrarian conflicts is also becoming a major issue in the parliamentary discussions.
Gunawan, a senior adviser at the Indonesian Human Rights Committee for Social Justice (IHCS), said agrarian conflict resolution requires a clear institutional mechanism. He highlighted the proposed National Agrarian Reform Agency, or BRAN, included in the draft legislation.
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Baleg has identified BRAN as one of the bill’s key provisions. Earlier in September, lawmakers proposed establishing the body under and directly accountable to the President.
However, the scope of BRAN’s authority remained under discussion. In a Sept. 18 working committee meeting, Baleg and the government were still discussing the bill’s inventory of problems, while the nomenclature of the proposed agency remained pending.
A day later, Baleg member Siti Aisyah argued that BRAN should have corrective powers to address unresolved agrarian problems and conflicts.
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Gunawan said the authority for resolving agrarian conflicts should be clearly coordinated through the proposed institution without creating overlapping mandates with other government bodies.
He also raised concerns about the roles of the Land Bank and the Forest Area Order Task Force (Satgas PKH) in relation to land redistribution and agrarian reform.
Palm Oil Sector Faces Direct Implications
The bill is moving through Parliament on an accelerated timetable. Baleg formed the Panja on Sept. 16, with discussions continuing with the government through the following days.
For Indonesia’s palm oil industry, the legislation could have direct implications for plantation land conflicts, former HGU land, potential beneficiaries of land redistribution and mechanisms for resolving disputes between communities, workers and plantation companies.
The debate also highlights a broader question over how agrarian reform should address not only land ownership and redistribution, but also the rights of people whose livelihoods and historical ties are connected to plantation areas. (P2)
