Antara News·Indonesia·Friday, October 30, 2026 at 01:23 PM UTC

RI's lawmaker calls for tougher penalties for forest-fire offenders

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Fath PM, Rahmad Nasution

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Commission IV Alex Indra Lukman has called for tougher penalties for individuals and companies proven to have caused forest and land fires.

Alex urged forestry civil servant investigators to pursue 125 entities and individuals identified in connection with the fires, saying penalties should go beyond administrative sanctions.

"Reports indicate that some companies are suspected of repeatedly causing forest and land fires. They should face cumulative charges, maximum penalties and additional criminal sanctions, including confiscation of corporate profits," Alex said in a press statement received here Friday.

He urged the Forestry Ministry to coordinate with the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department to pursue companies suspected of repeatedly contributing to forest and land fires.

He said interagency coordination was essential to effective enforcement, helping investigations proceed more efficiently, quickly and comprehensively.

"Identifying companies suspected of triggering these fires will show whether our law enforcement agencies are truly working in concert," said Alex, a lawmaker overseeing forestry affairs.

The National Police's Criminal Investigation Department previously said it had named 20 companies as suspects in forest and land fires: four foreign-investment firms and 16 domestic companies.

Meanwhile, the Forestry Ministry has imposed administrative sanctions on 32 companies involving a combined burned area of 12,926.74 hectares.

Of these, 19 had their operations suspended and were ordered to restore forest ecosystems, eight were ordered to carry out ecosystem restoration, and five had their permits revoked.

The ministry said 44 of the 125 identified entities were under preliminary inquiry, 79 were under formal investigation, and two companies were at the stage of transferring suspects and evidence to prosecutors (P-22).

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