Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia on the Handover of Rp10.27 Trillion Administrative Fines and Recovery of 2.73 Million Hectares of Forest Lands, at the Attorney General’s Office Complex, South Jakarta, Special Region of Jakarta, May 13, 2026

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

Good afternoon,

May peace and prosperity be upon us all,

Shalom,

Salve,

Om swastiastu,

Namo Buddhaya,

Greetings of virtue.

Distinguished Attorney General of the Republic of Indonesia and our host Professor ST. Burhanuddin, along with the entire leadership team of the Attorney General’s Office in attendance today; Acting Deputy Attorney General Professor Asep Nana Mulyana; Junior Attorney General for Extraordinary Crimes Febrie Adriansyah; Junior Attorney General for Intelligence Professor Reda Manthovani; Junior Attorney General for Administrative Affairs Hendro Dewanto; Junior Attorney General for Oversight Rudi Margono; Junior Attorney General for Civil and State Administrative Affairs Professor Narendra Jatna; and Junior Attorney General for Military Crimes Major General of the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI) Mokhamad Ali Ridho.

Distinguished Chairperson of Commission I of the House of Representatives, representing the House leadership Utut Adianto Wahyuwidayat; honorable Ministers, Heads of State Agencies, Commander of the TNI, Chief of the Indonesian National Police (Polri), Special Envoys to the President, and all members of the Red-and-White Cabinet in attendance: Minister of Defense General (Ret.) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, Minister of the State Secretariat Prasetyo Hadi, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia, Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, Minister of Environment Jumhur Hidayat, Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Nusron Wahid, Minister of Manpower Professor Yassierli, Minister of Transmigration Muhammad Iftitah Suryanegara, Commander of the TNI General Agus Subiyanto, Chief of the Polri General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, Head of the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency Muhammad Yusuf Ateh, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya, Head of the State-Owned Enterprises Regulatory Agency and Chief Operating Officer of Danantara (Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund) Dony Oskaria, Vice Minister of Forestry Rohmat Marzuki Taufik, Special Envoy to the President for Youth Development and Creative Artists Raffi Ahmad, and Acting Head of the Geospatial Information Agency Mohamad Arief Syafi’i.

Distinguished members of the Forest Area Enforcement Task Force, including the Chief of the TNI General Staff serving as the task force executive director, Lieutenant General Richard Tampubolon; Head of the Criminal Investigation Department of the National Police serving as the task force vice chairman, Police Commissioner General Syahardiantono; executives of state-owned enterprises, honored guests, and members of the press whom I deeply respect.

Well, there are many names to mention today. Without diminishing my respect for anyone, I will get straight to the core of my address.

As people of faith, let us never cease to offer our praises and gratitude to Allah the Almighty, the Lord of all creation. It is only to Him that we pray and seek guidance. We are grateful for the blessings of health, peace, and goodness that allow us to gather at the Attorney General’s Office today for the handover of Rp10.2 trillion administrative fines and the recovery of 2,373,000 hectares of state forest land.

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is an honor and a joy for me to attend this event. I believe this is the fourth time we have held such a handover, reaching a cumulative recovery of approximately Rp40 trillion. I am always glad to be invited to events like this, where we can physically see Rp10.2 trillion returned to the state.

I have been informed that next month there will be another handover of Rp11 trillion. And, reports indicate there is about Rp39 trillion sitting in suspicious accounts belonging to corrupt individuals or criminals who may have fled the country or passed away. They left their money behind in unverified accounts. Perhaps some had multiple wives or hidden relationships, leaving their heirs completely unaware that these funds existed in the banks. These accounts have been abandoned for years. I have stated that once we find our nationals’ funds that remain completely unclaimed for a year after public notices are issued, we will take them over directly to benefit the people. Therefore, by next month, we anticipate recovering nearly Rp49 trillion.

On behalf of the state, the Government, and the people of Indonesia, I extend my deepest gratitude to all members of the Forest Area Enforcement Task Force (Satgas PKH).

We must not view these events as mere ceremonies or public shows. It is my firm conviction that the Indonesian people have reached a point where they demand concrete results. Having lived as an Indonesian for a long time, I know our citizens are tired of listening to endless speeches and lectures. They need to see real action, just like the Rp10 trillion presented here today.

I recently traveled to several remote regions and received a report from the Minister of Health. “Sir, we have 10,000 community health centers (Puskesmas) established during the era of President Soeharto that have not been renovated for 30 years”. “How much capital is required to fix all the 10,000 centers.” “It takes about Rp2 billion for each center, meaning we need roughly Rp20 trillion.” Ladies and gentlemen, the Rp10 trillion recovered today means we can complete the rehabilitation of 5,000 community health centers.

If the Task Force delivers another Rp10 trillion next month, combined with the Rp39 trillion from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), we will secure Rp49 trillion. With those funds, we can easily repair every single community health center in the country. We will also immediately upgrade our neglected schools. Through the state budget last year, we renovated 17,000 schools. This year, we are fixing 70,000 schools. Next year, we target 100,000 schools, followed by another 100,000 the year after, including all Islamic schools (Madrasah) and similar educational institutions. We are financing all of this using funds that would have otherwise vanished into the pockets of corruptors, thieves, and plunderers had we not saved those funds.

So, ladies and gentlemen, the work carried out by the Task Force, the Attorney General’s Office, the Police, the Defense Forces, the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP), and the PPATK proves our absolute resolve to safeguard state wealth wherever it is. The 1945 Constitution explicitly mandates that the earth, water, and all natural resources contained within them must be controlled by the state for the benefit of the people. This is not an invention of Prabowo Subianto, it is the direct command of our founding fathers.

And, let us, as the next generation, let us, young people, be honest with our elders. Let us understand and comprehend where we come from. Our fathers, our grandfathers, were colonized for hundreds of years, humiliated, oppressed, enslaved, treated lower than dogs, living in hardship, destitution, and poverty.

We refuse to let our people live in perpetual poverty. We refuse to let them suffer continuously. We must fight to ensure they live in justice and prosperity. How can we ever expect to prosper if our wealth is drained daily? It is flowing out of the country, rather than staying within the Republic of Indonesia.

Esteemed Guests,

This is a noble and sacred struggle. We are on the right track of history, safeguarding the future of Indonesia for our children and grandchildren. We do not discriminate on the grounds of ethnicity, religion, social group, or political party. We are all children of Indonesia. Every citizen will ultimately decide to side with either the righteous ones or those who plunder the nation’s wealth and strip the people of their rights. The public watches our resources being stolen and looted every day. This unjust exploitation must come to an end, and we will fight hard to end it, regardless of the risks.

I am fully aware that many people, especially criminals, dislike the Forest Area Enforcement Task Force. The bandits and plunderers despise you. The choice is yours: are you scared of them, or will you defend the people? I see your achievements. Four times now, I have been invited to witness you return state assets on behalf of the public. Yet, this is only a small fraction of the wealth we must reclaim. The struggle ahead remains difficult, as there are still hundreds, even thousands of trillions of rupiahs that we must secure.

Many may ask, “is it possible?” The answer is not whether it is possible, but that it must be done. This is not about political will or seeking popularity. My administration does not do this only to gain any popularity. This is a matter of national survival. Our population of 287 million people cannot achieve prosperity if our national wealth is systematically siphoned off every week and every month. Our palm oil is exported, but the revenues are secured abroad. Our coal, tin, and gold are sold internationally, yet the profits do not return to Indonesia. The data and the facts are clear. The battle is heavy, but we face it with courage, optimism, and steady progress.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I will not prolong this speech, but let this serve as evident proof to our citizens. In the coming days, we will continue providing evidence and reporting our decisive steps directly to the public. We will enforce the law strictly to ensure the state is always present. The Republic will grow stronger and rise higher based on concrete facts and data.

Esteemed guests,

The Almighty has blessed us with an extraordinary gift. In the coming months and into next year, we will prove this to our citizens. My fellow compatriots, I believe the world will stand in awe of the rise of the Indonesian nation. Yet, we must not fall into euphoria, nor must we become arrogant. We must follow the wisdom of our ancestors: as we grow more mature, we must never fail to humble ourselves. Do not fear threats, insults, or slander. We are slandered, insulted, and mocked only because we are feared. And we are feared because we stand firmly for truth and justice.

Those who defend truth and justice are honorable. Even if we fall in this fight, never fear death, for it is the only certainty in this world. We will all be called by the Creator eventually; it is only a matter of time. And remember, that call does not follow a specific order or seniority. Those at the back, do not smile. It is true, isn’t it? Usually, the very best people are called first, right? Isn’t that so?

As long as we have breath, we will fight for what is right. I understand this is easy to say but difficult to practice. I know our generals, officials, and ministers receive relatively small salaries compared to their heavy responsibilities. But compared to our poorest citizens, you are blessed. Do not just look upward; look at those who face far greater hardships than you do.

I want to share a deeply satisfying update from last week. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court met with me following a summit of ASEAN Chief Justices. During that meeting, the Chief Justice of Malaysia approached our Chief Justice and said, ‘Your Honor, I salute Indonesia. For the first time in history, the salary of an Indonesian judge exceeds that of a Malaysian judge.’ In fact, the story goes that our most junior judge now earns nearly twice as much as a junior judge in Malaysia. This is because one of the very first steps my administration took was to increase the salaries of our judges by nearly 300 percent. I initially pushed for a full 300 percent, but the Minister of Finance only approved 280 percent increase. That is fine, because we have already made a massive leap forward.

Then, our Chief Justice, Professor Sunarto, shared another report with me. He said, ‘Sir, the Chief Justice of Singapore also congratulated me, noting that the income of the Chief Justice of the Indonesian Supreme Court now surpasses that of the Chief Justice of Singapore.’

Hearing that, I thought to myself, ‘We are doing quite well, aren’t we?’ Why did we do this? Because I am firmly convinced that the root problems of corruption and injustice must be resolved through the judiciary. Therefore, our judges must be deeply respected, rigorously selected, and provided with sufficient compensation so they remain entirely immune to bribery.

I have instructed the Minister of Public Housing to construct official residences for all judges nationwide. Despite their significant salary increases, the monthly housing allowance for judges has remained highly inadequate at around Rp1.5 million.

Judges are frequently reassigned across different regencies and provinces. Since we only have about 8,900 judges across Indonesia, the state is fully capable of providing them with proper official housing.

Given that we only have about 8,900 judges across the country, providing them with proper official housing is well within our financial capacity. Following this decision, the Chief Justice said, “Sir, I appreciate your attention to judicial welfare, but there is another pressing issue since our courts rely on many other essential personnel whose compensation remains unchanged, such as court clerks, administrative staff, and support personnel.” I told him that I completely understand and acknowledge this reality. Minister of Finance, please secure the necessary budget so that the salaries of all court support staff will also increase.

Other branches of the Government should not feel envious of the judiciary. We must transform our judicial system into a sanctuary of true justice for our people. I have conveyed to the Chief Justice and all serving judges: remember that your rulings will be scrutinized and studied by the public. Our society is highly discerning and apt to quickly recognize any forms of injustice. We are transforming the judiciary, and we will systematically reform the entire executive branch as well.

If we effectively secure our state assets, we will have more than enough capital to rebuild every institution in the Republic. We are addressing decades of neglect by repairing all community health centers within two years and upgrading every school within three years. We have the money. For the next steps, we need strategic allocation, sharp focus, hard work, and strict oversight to prevent fraud, deception, and systemic leaks.

It saddens me when I monitor the Minister of Agriculture traveling across regions only to find that funds allocated for high-quality seeds were misused by local officers purchasing substandard seeds, assuming no one would check. This is a crime against humanity. Substandard seeds lead to poor crop yields, which directly undermine our agricultural prosperity. To establish truth, we must enforce strict organizational discipline firmly.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We are coordinating continuously across ministries to implement steady improvements. For instance, we have restructured the interest rates under the state-backed ultra-microfinance program, PNM Mekaar. This program provides micro-loans of Rp2 to 10 million to low-income families, yet they were previously charged a 24 percent interest rate. Meanwhile, large corporate conglomerates secure bank loans at 9 percent interest. Think about it, the wealthy were charged 9 percent interest, while the poor 24 percent. This contradicts our state philosophy of Pancasila.

I summoned the Minister of Finance, the economic ministers, and the leadership of Danantara. I gave them a direct instruction, because this is a definitive political decision that I have made: the interest rate for the state-backed microfinance program, PNM Mekaar, which provides loans to underprivileged families, must be slashed from 24 percent to below 10 percent, specifically, below nine percent. It absolutely must be below nine percent. I asked the head of Danantara, ‘Can Danantara deliver this?’ They said yes. I asked, ‘What rate?’ They replied, ‘Eight percent.’ I told him, ‘You deliberately chose the number eight, didn’t you? Why not seven percent?’ Well, anyway, it must remain below nine percent. How can we tolerate a system where poor people pay significantly higher interest rates than the wealthy?

We will continuously analyze our systemic vulnerabilities and fix our shortcomings. Our structural benchmark remains Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution, treated not as mere slogans but as realities we actively implement.

Once again, I thank the Forest Area Enforcement Task Force (PKH). Keep fighting and fulfilling your noble duty for the prosperity of our people. I instruct all officials across all ministries and agencies to eliminate administrative inefficiencies, streamline licensing, and remove bureaucratic hurdles. Our business community frequently notes that while neighboring nations process investment permits in two weeks, it can take up to two years in Indonesia. We must match regional standards. If our neighbors can issue permits in two weeks, we have no excuse for taking two years. We must simplify our regulations. Too often, bureaucratic red tape is intentionally created to extract kickbacks and speed money for permits. Even after we simplify state regulations, individual ministries often introduce secondary technical restrictions.

I instructed the Minister of the State Secretariat to assemble a team of experts and form a specialized task force dedicated entirely to accelerating deregulation. We must simplify processes and support legitimate commercial enterprises. Non-compliant actors will face strict enforcement, but honest investors who want to build our economy must receive full state support. Many foreign investors complain about our protracted and convoluted licensing requirements, some of which defy logic. For example, I monitored an issue where import permits for medical-grade gas required by hospitals were so heavily delayed by red tape that our national medical gas supply dropped to critical levels. This occurred simply due to bureaucratic administrative delays.

That concludes my remarks. Keep up the hard work, keep fighting, and I will see you next month. Let us all focus on continuous self-improvement and institutional reform. Rest assured, our national revenue is growing sufficient. Through strategic asset allocation, we have already achieved significant progress, and we will accomplish much more moving forward.

Wassalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

May prosperity be upon us all,

Shalom,

Salve,

Om santi santi santi om,

Namo Buddhaya,

Greetings of virtue.

Independence!

I thank you.

(RIF/TM)