Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia at the Handover of Rp13.2 Trillion in Administrative Fines and the Reclamation of 259,000 Hectares of Forest Areas, at Bundar Building, Attorney General’s Office of the Republic of Indonesia Complex, Jakarta on Tuesday, October 6, 2026

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. 
Good afternoon,
Peace and prosperity be upon us all,
Shalom,
Salve, 
Om swastiastu,
Namo Buddhaya, 
Greetings of Virtue.

Honorable Attorney General of the Republic of Indonesia, as the host of this event, Professor S.T. Burhanuddin, and all the officials and staff of the Attorney General’s Office, whom I respect and take great pride in;
Honorable leaders of state institutions, the Chair of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Police Commissioner General (Ret.) Setyo Budiyanto, the Coordinating Ministers, the Ministers, the Commander of the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI), the Chief of the National Police, the Head of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), the heads of government agencies, the President’s Special Envoys, the Vice Ministers, and all members of the Red and White Cabinet.
Honorable Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for Downstreaming and Energy Transition Bahlil Lahadalia, Minister of Defense General (Ret.) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni, Minister of Finance Professor Suahasil Nazara, Minister of Manpower Professor Yassierli, Minister of Transmigration Iftitah Suryanagara, Commander of the TNI General Agus Subiyanto, Chief of the National Police General Suyudi Ario Seto, Head of the State Intelligence Agency General (Ret.) Muhammad Herindra, Head of the Financial and Development Supervisory Board Muhammad Yusuf Ateh, Head of the Agency for Development Control and Special Investigation (Bappisus) Aris Marsudiyanto, and Cabinet Secretary Lieutenant Colonel Teddy Indra Wijaya.

Honorable and esteem members of the Forest Area Enforcement Task Force (Satgas PKH).

Distinguished leaders of the state-owned enterprises (SOEs), honored guests and invitees, members of the press and media, directors generals, and other officials present here today. I extend my deepest respect to all of you, including those whose names I have not mentioned individually.

As people of faith, let us always offer our praise and gratitude to Almighty God, the MostGreat, and, for our Muslim brothers and sisters, to Allah, the Most Exalted, for all the blessings bestowed upon us, including the health and peace we continue to enjoy. It is through His grace that we are able to gather here this afternoon for the Handover Ceremony of Rp13,241,335,681,910 in Administrative Fines and the Reclamation of 259,000 Hectares of Forest Areas.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today, once again, we are witnessing the tangible results of the hard work of Satgas PKH, which, as mentioned earlier, brings together twelve institutions working in cooperation to recover and safeguard the nation’s wealth. Ladies and gentlemen, this is already the eighth event of its kind. The total cash handed over so far amounts to approximately Rp52 trillion, Rp52 trillion, or around US$3 billion, that we have recovered in just two years.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to thank you for the hard work of the Forest Area Enforcement Task Force. I understand and appreciate that the challenges you face are far from easy. Whenever the Indonesian Government tries to put its own house in order, whenever leaders within this nation seek to eradicate corruption, whenever members of our national leadership seek to combat smuggling, the spread of narcotics, fraud, and the plundering of state wealth, we always face considerable resistance. We all know where this resistance comes from: those who enjoy corruption, those who profit from dishonesty and fraudulent practices, and those who benefit from the theft and plunder of our nation’s wealth.

We know that they are powerful. But we also understand that throughout history, not only in the history of our nation, but throughout human history, there has always been a struggle between those who walk the right path, those who seek to uphold truth, justice, and honesty, and those who seek to defend wrongdoing. These challenges will always exist. We understand that. The choice, however, is ours to make. Do we have the courage to choose the path of truth? Or will we surrender to the forces of greed, forces that are disloyal to this nation, forces that hold the people in contempt, forces working to keep Indonesia poor even though ours is an extraordinarily wealthy country?
I understand the situation. I follow what is happening. I may not be the smartest person, but I am certainly not stupid either. I have eyes and ears everywhere. I know that some of you have been threatened and intimidated. It is not only you who have been threatened; your families have been threatened as well. I understand, and I appreciate the fact that you all refuse to back down, refuse to waver, and refuse to surrender. However, I would also like to make this clear to anyone in this task force, or anywhere in my administration: those who no longer wish to remain on the right path, I respectfully invite you to step aside. You are welcome to just watch. Or, if you wish to join the groups that plunder our nation’s wealth, if you choose to be more loyal to those forces, go right ahead.

I would like to thank those of you who are still willing to fight alongside me, to fight for our people, to fight for those who have no voice, to fight for those who have nothing, to fight for those who have no homes, to fight for those who have no idea where their next breakfast or dinner will come from. I thank you. Believe me, truth will prevail.  Believe me, we are on the right path. We do not hesitate, even if they have hundreds of trillions of rupiah, even if they pay for online buzzers, manipulation of algorithms, attack us on social media, or fund street protests, we will not back down as we stand with the people, and we are ready to die for the people. Thank you.

We understand that our country is not in a good place. We understand that. For decades, we have seen our institutions being undermined. Our ministers and directors general have been targeted for bribes. Let alone ministers and directors general, even I have been targeted for bribes.  Over these past two years, I have been targeted for bribes repeatedly. I understand, we see the problems, and we are trying to put things right. We have tried to do so through persuasion, through preaching, yes, preaching the truth and national values, through dialogue, through convincing people. Wherever I’m invited to speak, and I’m sure you all know this, I always deliver the same message. The ministers who attend meetings with me know my position, my determination, and what I stand for.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our country is extraordinarily wealthy. Satgas PKH has been working for only two years, working across vast territories and dense forests. As a former soldier, I understand the challenges of operating in our forests, mountains, and swamps. I understand the difficulties faced by our personnel, our soldiers, our police officers, our Customs officers, and our forest police. We understand these challenges. If I am not mistaken, to protect the tens of millions of hectares of forest we have, we have only 7,000, or perhaps only 4,500 forest police. We are trying to protect tens of millions [of hectares] with just 4,500 forest police. How are they supposed to deal with forest plunderers? How are they supposed to deal with those who set our forests on fire? We will continue to improve the situation.

I have proposed additional State Budget funding, if I am not mistaken, to increase the number of forest police from 4,500 to 70,000. I do not know how many years it will take to reach that target. Minister of Finance, how much funding will we receive next year? Alright, out of the target of 70,000, we can only reach 21,000 by 2027. This means it may take another three to four years to reach 70,000 [forest police]. The same applies to Customs. We have hundreds of ports and hundreds of airports. How many personnel do we have? How many vessels do we have? The same goes for our other security enforcers.  We understand these challenges. That is why we will work to address these gaps and make improvements.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Despite the resistance and challenges we face, believe me, the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia is strong. Believe me, we will prevail, and I believe that day is not far away. I say this with complete conviction. I act, I lead, and I make policy decisions without hesitation. I have only one guiding principle, that is whatever benefits the Indonesian people and nation, that is what I will do. Nothing else. Whatever benefits the Indonesian people and nation, that is what I will do. And that is the instruction I give to all ministers and heads of government agencies. Whenever we need to make a policy decision, ask yourselves if this policy will benefit our nation and people, especially ordinary people. If it benefits the people and nation, do not hesitate. We must pursue it. We must implement it. And, we are already seeing the results.

We once had more than a thousand SOEs, 1,074 SOEs. I was shocked when I became President. I thought we had only around 300 SOEs. But when I took office, I discovered that we had 1,074, most of them operating at a loss. Ladies and gentlemen, I consolidated these SOEs under a single management structure, namely Danantara, Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund. The name stands for Daya Anagata Nusantara. Daya means power or energy. Anagata means the future. Nusantara means our homeland. In other words, Danantara is a fund that serves as a source of strength and energy for Indonesia’s future, for our children and grandchildren. We have abundant wealth and natural resources. Our responsibility is to protect and manage them. And at the forefront stands Satgas PKH. Thank you, Satgas PKH. What did I say earlier? PHK? PKH? PKH!

The Forest Area Enforcement Task Force has recovered more than 6.2 million hectares, more than 6.2 million hectares. Ladies and gentlemen, if you had not saved this land, it would have been destroyed, and its wealth lost. The value of these six million [hectares] could be more than Rp100 trillion. More than Rp100 trillion. How much is it worth? The estimated value is nearly Rp400 trillion. These 6.2 million [hectares] are worth almost Rp400 trillion, ladies and gentlemen. With Rp400 trillion, we could eradicate poverty. How many thousands of homes could we build for our people? How many thousands of schools could we renovate?

From 2025 until now, we have repaired around 70,000 schools. The budget is approximately Rp90 trillion. That is right, isn’t it? For school renovations? Schools, schools, around Rp90 trillion, correct? Over these two years. That means that with Rp400 trillion, I believe we could repair all the schools in Indonesia. We have 360,000 schools. With Rp400 trillion, we could repair every school in Indonesia. We could also repair all the community health centers that have not been repaired for the past 20 years.

Ladies and gentlemen,
You have also regained control of illegal mining areas covering 14 million [hectares], was the latest figure 14,000 hectares? But from those thousands of hectares, we have already taken control of hundreds of mines. In Bangka Island, we have taken steps to curb tin smuggling and reduce its scale. Some smuggling activities still get through, but we have taken firm action against it. PT Timah, which had been operating at a loss, saw its profits increase by 900 percent in just one year.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
These are the results of the hard work of the Task Force. Other institutions have also been working hard. I have been monitoring Customs, which has successfully intercepted and exposed dozens of smuggling cases involving goods worth trillions of rupiah. The National Narcotics Agency (BNN), the agency responsible for fighting drug-related crimes, whose name we will revise as well, has also succeeded in dismantling dozens of drug networks and dozens of drug-infested communities. Apparently, there are neighborhoods in Indonesia that have become drug hubs. When officers enter these areas, they are the ones who get attacked. Ladies and gentlemen, several police officers have been killed while trying to bring the hubs under control.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
This is a challenge faced not only by our country, but we will work even harder to address it. I am very proud that other institutions are now following the example set by the Task Force. SOEs have also started to clean up their act. Those who refuse to do so should know that their time will come. We will not stop, and we will not hesitate. It is better for you to clean up your act, put things in order, admit your mistakes, and report them as soon as possible. That way, you can become a justice collaborator. Right? “Sir, I’m sorry. I made mistakes in the past. I gave in to temptation, but I’ve come to my senses. Here, I’m returning the money I got through corruption.”

In that case, all relevant parties, including the judges, right? These can be considered in the judge’s decision, right? Things that could reduce their sentence include realizing their mistakes, cooperating with the authorities, becoming a justice collaborator, returning some of the money they stole out of love for the Indonesian nation and people, and willing to identify others involved. That is important. That way, ladies and gentlemen, the lost assets can be recovered without having to be chased down by twelve different agencies. Once the assets are returned, we can move forward and fix things. But if anyone tries to play games, secretly resist, operate as a deep state, pretend to comply while obstructing our efforts, or sabotage us from within, we are not fools. I have held back and tried to keep things calm, but I believe we have reached the point where we can no longer tolerate this. We have compromised too much already.

Thank you, Satgas PKH. I have said this many times, and I say it once again. Keep up your good work. Continue what you are doing. Remember, you are protecting our children and grandchildren. The millions of hectares you have saved, the illegal mines you have shut down and brought under state control. These are an investment for our nation. You are adding to our national investment for the future of our children and grandchildren. We will have the funds to raise teachers’ salaries, the salaries of all civil servants, judges, prosecutors, and police officers. We will have the money to help people who are hungry. We will have the money to build homes. We will have the money to repair irrigation systems. We will have the money to deal with forest fires. Do not wait for forests to catch fire. We must act now to prevent them. All of this requires funding.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our task remains difficult, and the road ahead is still long. But victory is already within sight, ladies and gentlemen. In just two years, the Task Force has helped return Rp52 trillion to the state. That is no small amount of money, Rp52 trillion. And, I believe the Attorney General and the other officials have already been quietly telling me, “Sir, just wait. Next month, we will have more.” And, I see Mr. Richard smiling confidently, which means he is optimistic. All the leaders of the Task Force are smiling, so they must be very optimistic. Their contributions will continue to grow. As long as the handovers are in cash like this, I will come to the Task Force myself.

To the leadership of the Task Force, I want you to give me a list of your outstanding personnel. Those who perform exceptionally well must be promoted immediately. They must be given opportunities for advancement and awarded medals of honor. That is how a country should be governed. Those who steal must be pursued and arrested. Those who do good work must be promoted. If good people are not rewarded, then what is the point? Attorney General, thank you. What rank is higher than the Attorney General’s? Thank you. What is it, Richard? Relax. Just relax. I have already got my eye on you. You are getting nervous, aren’t you?

Now, let me say this. Bung Karno once said, “Set your ambitions as high as the sky. If you fail to reach it, at least you will fall among the stars.” Isn’t that what he said? Believe me, we are defending our nation. We are defending our people. There is nothing nobler than defending the Indonesian nation and its people.

Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

Keep up the good work. Keep fighting.

Thank you.

I conclude this speech. (FI/MMB)