Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia at Handover Ceremony of Land Certificates for Cilacap Residents, Cilacap Regency, Central Java Province, January 2, 2024

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
Good morning,
May prosperity be upon us all,
Distinguished Cabinet Ministers, Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning and Head of the National Land Agency (BPN), Minister of Transportation, Minister of Public Works and Public Housing, Vice Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Pak Antoni Raja Juli;
Distinguished Member of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) Ibu Novita;
Distinguished Governor of Central Java Province, Regent of Cilacap Regency;
Ladies and Gentlemen, especially recipients of land certificates.

Please show me the certificates, I am going to count them. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, two thousand. Right? The Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning said that there were 1,122 land certificates received today, and 878 land certificates for natural lands, as part of the land redistribution program.

A certificate is a proof of the rights to the land that you own. If you own a parcel of land, then someone else claims it, and you don’t have a land certificate, you will definitely lose in a court. In 2015, when I visited villages, regions and hamlets, there were always many people complaining about land disputes and land conflicts. What’s the cause? The people did not have land certificates. We had conflicts between neighbors, between family members, between communities and the government, between communities and private companies, and many more. In the year of 2015, of the 126 million parcels of land, only 46 million were certified, and 80 million parcels of land were without land certificates. This was the cause of many land conflicts.

When I reviewed the BPN’s performance, it turned out that every year they only issued 500,000 land certificates, even though the shortage of certificates was 80 million. It means that you have to wait 160 years to get your certificate. Anyone of you want to wait? Raise your hand, I will give you a bicycle. We have to wait 160 years if we do business as usual, namely issuing 500,000 certificates per year from Sabang to Merauke.

Therefore, I ordered the Minister at that time to issue 10 million certificates per year, [increasing] from 500,000 to 10 million certificates per year. As of last year, 101 million certificates had been delivered from Sabang to Merauke. The BPN personnel are working hard to complete this because I gave them a target. A target is something important in our performance. Without any target, we will only issue 500,000 land certificates. Do you want that we only issue 500,000 certificates per year? As of today, almost all parcels of land have been certified. My estimation is that if there was no COVID-19 pandemic, the program would have been completed. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the completion has been delayed. Perhaps next year it will be completed, in 2025, across the country. The new President will complete this program.

A certificate is a proof of legal rights of land. If you have a land certificate, if someone claims your land, you can prove that you are the owner. The certificate contains information regarding the name of title holder, and it cannot be challenged, because your name is already written on the certificate.

After getting the certificate, you may want to use the certificate as loan collateral. If you want to make a loan collateral, you have to calculate carefully whether or not you will be able to pay the monthly installments. For example, you have 5,000 square meters of land, then you use the certificate as collateral to get a loan of Rp500 million, then you use Rp200 million to buy a car. In the next six months, if you cannot pay the car installments and the banking loan, your car and your land will be confiscated.

You have to be careful if you want to use the certificate as collateral for a banking loan, you have to really calculate the installments and your ability to pay the installments. If you have a business with a profit of Rp10 million, and your loan installments are Rp5 million, you may apply for a banking loan.

I remind all of you that if you borrow money from a bank, you must use it for your business, not to buy a car, motorbike, TV or luxury goods, because the loan is the bank’s money, not your money. Once your loan is repaid, and you get a profit from your business, then you can save your profit, and you may buy a new car.

Now, please raise your hand if anyone of you can recite Pancasila. All right, the man wearing a blue t-shirt. Would you say something? Pancasila, all right. What is your name?

Cilacap Resident (Pandri)

Thank you Mr President of the Republic of Indonesia, thank you for choosing me, thank God. I am a community member from Ujunggagak Village, Kampung Laut, Cilacap regency.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

Kampung Laut, all right.

Cilacap Resident (Pandri)

Long live Mr Jokowi. Freedom. Let me introduce myself, my name is Pandri, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

Your name is…

Cilacap Resident (Pandri)

Pandri.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

Mr Pandri.

Cilacap Resident (Pandri)

Yes, RT 03, RW 04, Karangsari hamlet, Kampung Laut, Ujunggagak, Cilacap.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

RT 03.

Cilacap Resident (Pandri)

RW 04.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

RW 04?

Cilacap Resident (Pandri)

RW 04.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

RW 04.

Cilacap Resident (Pandri)

Karangsari Hamlet.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

Karangsari Hamlet.

Cilacap Resident (Pandri)

Ujunggagak Village.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

Ujung Village?

Cilacap Resident (Pandri)

Kampung Laut.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

Kampung Laut. Where is it?

Cilacap Resident (Pandri)

Cilacap.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

Cilacap, all right. Cilacap.

Cilacap Resident (Pandri)

Right, sir

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

Perhaps I don’t know the address of RT/RW, hamlet, kampung, or district. Anyway, how many square meters did you get, Mr Pandri?

Cilacap Resident (Pandri)

Thank God, I got 268 square meters.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

This is natural land, right?

Cilacap Resident (Pandri)

Natural land.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

All right. Natural land.

Cilacap Resident (Pandri)

Thank you Mr Jokowi, it’s been hundreds of years before I got this, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

Hundreds of years?

Cilacap Resident (Pandri)

Hundreds of years since my ancestors lived, I have just received the certificate now, from Mr. Jokowi.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

After hundreds of years, now you have the certificate. Now the land problem has been settled, right?

Cilacap Resident (Pandri)

Right.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

Now, please recite the Pancasila. One…

Cilacap Resident (Pandri)

The Almighty God…

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

Wait, wait, wait.

Pancasila…

Cilacap Resident (Pandri)

I am sorry, I am nervous. Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Pancasila. One, belief in the Almighty God; Two, just and civilized humanity; Three, the unity of Indonesia; Four, democratic life led by wisdom of thoughts in deliberation among representatives of the people; Five, social justice for all Indonesian people.

Freedom Mr Jokowi, Freedom. How is it, sir?

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

All right.

Cilacap Resident (Pandri)

Is there any…

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

Please take the bicycle. The bicycle can be exchanged for a car, because it is not the bicycle that is expensive, but the text written there: from President Jokowi.

Other participants please raise your hands. I haven’t asked the question yet, but you’ve raised your hand.

What is the name of the new capital city of Indonesia?

Now it’s women’s turn. Go ahead, ma’am, please state your name.

Cilacap Resident (Santi Elawati)

My name is Santi Elawati, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

And your nickname is..?

Cilacap Resident (Santi Elawati)

Ela, Ela, Ela, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

Ela, Mrs Ela from Cilacap?

Cilacap Resident (Santi Elawati)

Right sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

Mrs Ela, what is the name of the new capital city of Indonesia?

Cilacap Resident (Santi Elawati)

IKN Pak, IKN, Nusantara Capital.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

The name of the new capital city of Indonesia has one word only.

Cilacap Resident (Santi Elawati)

IKN.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

One word.

Cilacap Resident (Santi Elawati)

I’m nervous, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

Your previous answer was correct.

Cilacap Resident (Santi Elawati)

Capital….

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

The last one. What is it?

Cilacap Resident (Santi Elawati)

IKN. Nusantara, sir. Nusantara capital.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

Please say it out loud. What is the name of the new capital city of Indonesia?

Cilacap Resident (Santi Elawati)

Nusantara.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

All right. Nusantara. IKN stands for Ibu Kota Nusantara [the capital city of Nusantara]. The answer is Nusantara, but IKN isn’t wrong answer either. Later, if someone asks you the name of the new capital of Indonesia, the answer is Nusantara.

Cilacap Resident (Santi Elawati)

Thank you, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)

You are welcome. Your answer is right, IKN is right, Nusantara is right. Please take the bicycle. When you were sitting, you would have easily answered my questions about Pancasila, etc., but when you stand here, all the answers are lost because you are nervous. Nevertheless, Mrs Ela answered the question about the new capital correctly.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I think that concludes my remarks. Once again, I congratulate all of you for the land certificates. Anyone of you wants to get another bicycle? Unfortunately, I only have two bicycles.

Thank you.
Wassalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

(RI/MMB)