Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia During Distribution of 2022 Land Certificates for the People, State Palace, Jakarta, December 1, 2022

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,
Good afternoon,
May prosperity be upon us all,
Shalom,
Om swastiastu,
Namo Buddhaya,
Greetings of virtue,

Distinguished Ministers of the Indonesia Onward Cabinet,

Chief of the Indonesian National Police, Chairperson of the House’s Commission II,
Distinguished Governors and all ranks of Forkopimda (regional leadership coordination forum),
Distinguished Heads of Regional Office of the National Land Agency (BPN) who attend the event other physically or virtually,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Recipients of land certificates;
Esteemed Guests,

This afternoon, I am pleased because 1,552,000 certificates were received by recipients in 34 provinces who either physically or virtually attended the event from their respective provinces.

I want all recipients to show me the certificates, both those who either physically or virtually attend the event. Raise the certificates higher so I can see them. Hold up, do not lower your hand. Let me count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 1.552.000 certificates were received.

Are you happy or not to receive the certificate?

Those who are not, please raise your hand. I will give you a bicycle, anyone? So, everyone is happy, right? If you have the certificate, please make sure you know how much land area we own. Everyone should know. If I ask you, “How much land do you own, Ma’am?” “It is 632, 531.” You know the exact amount since land certificate is legal proof of property ownership. Thus, everyone should know it. For those who do not know yet, please read the certificate. It is all written in it.

We know that there were 126 million uncertified parcels of land back then in 2015. However, only 46 million people owned certificates. So, there are still 80 million people who do not own land certificates. That is a lot and leads to land disputes and land conflicts occur everywhere. Right?

Now that you already have it, if someone came and said “This is my land,” you can say “No, this is mine. Here is the certificate.” They will go away then. Because you have legal proof of property ownership. Anyway, land conflicts can last 35 years, and some last 15 years or 25 years. It will drain people’s energy. There are lots of conflicts among neighbors, between the communities and the Government, the community and the private sector, the communities, and state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

I had ordered Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning to tackle the issue. It was 2015 and there were still 80 million people who did not own land certificates. As of today, the total has reached 100 million. There are 26 million certificates left to be completed in about two or three years, insya Allah.

If people have land certificates, there will be no conflicts and land disputes. Everything is clear. The BPN has measured all lands. This is a big thing.

I have spoken to Minister of BPN, “Sir, we still have 80 million uncertified parcels of land. In a year, how many certificates can we issue throughout Indonesia? “Five hundred thousand.” That means all of you should wait for 160 years to have a certificate. In a year, we can issue half a million certificates, but who wants to wait for 160 years? Anyone, please raise your hand? I will give you a bike, just raise your hand.

The plan was to wait for 160 years, but it turns out that with hard work, the BPN can complete the certificates as I ordered. There are still 25,806,000, which means approximately 26 million land parcels. This must be resolved, Mr. Minister.

And, regarding the land issue of the Anak Dalam tribe. The issue has been dragging on for over 35 years. Is it right, Sir? Oh, it is happening here too. The issue had remained unresolved for over 35 years. Indeed, it is hard to resolve when it comes to legal disputes. It is hard since it takes energy, takes more money, and mental exhaustion.

Alhamdulillah, the ownership issue of 744 land parcels of the Anak Dalam tribe has been resolved. How many hectares of land does a family own? It is one hectare each. Done, it is finished. It has been 35 years, yet it is finished already.

Because of what? The issue has been resolved because the deputy minister, the Minister himself, and the regional government monitoring the progress on the ground. It is easy to solve a problem as long as we monitor it on the ground instead of sitting in the office. I bet the issue will not be settled anytime soon.

There are lots of land disputes that occur, not only in the Anak Dalam tribe. This is our major land problem, not to mention the existence of land mafias that makes it any worse. But, since incumbent Agrarian Affairs Minister is a former Commander of the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI), he will target land mafia and make them disappear.

I have also spoken to the Minister, “Sir, please. Do not give mercy to land mafia. This concerns the livelihood of many people. When it comes to land, it is terrible. They can fight and kill each other since it involves a very principled matter.”

We must avoid land conflicts. Once again, land disputes can be resolved immediately by providing certificates as proof of legal rights. And regarding the Anak Dalam tribe, we have distributed land certificates and redistributed hectares of land to them.

Once again, I remind you to keep the proof of legal rights safe. Keep it carefully, have a copy of it, and keep it in another safe place. In case you lost it, you still have the other one. Should you all have a copy of all certificates. Are we all one mind, Ladies and Gentlemen?

With the certificate, everything is crystal clear. We know who owns the land. Please, open the first page. It contains the owner’s name. Read it, there is also the total land area. Those who have never had a land certificate, read it carefully. There is the name of the rights holder written above. Isn’t the owner’s name right? It includes the address, the village, the subdistrict, everything is written on it. It even includes square meters of space, just check it out. It is all written in the measurement chart at the bottom left. Are we clear? Okay. Keep it carefully. Do not let the certificate damage or lose it. If you lost it and you kept the copy, you can visit the BPN office to get a new one.

Usually, people tend to pawn off the certificate, right? Come on, there is no need to be ashamed, okay? Let me remind you to carefully do the math if you want to use it as collateral to a bank. Please, make a calculation that you can pay the debt in installments and return the money. Remember that it is a loan. Be careful. If you know that you cannot pay your loans, you will lose the certificate. Therefore, make sure you can pay it in installments if you want to borrow money from a bank. If you cannot afford it, then do not. But after doing a thorough calculation and you can pay it back, go ahead.

Second, regarding the loan. For example, if you own a large parcel of land and get a loan of Rp400 million, then you want to spend Rp200 million for a car, or if you get a loan of Rp40 million and spend Rp20 million for a motorbike, be careful. It does not work that way. Either you borrow Rp500 million or Rp40 million, it is still a loan that must be returned.

We do not expect such things to happen. If you borrow a loan of Rp500 million, Rp200 million to buy a car, or a loan of Rp40 million, Rp20 million to buy a motorbike, it will only last for six months. Believe me. After six months, when you could not afford to pay in installments, you will be confused. The bank will take away your car, your motorbike, and land certificate. I am saying that if you borrow Rp40 million, please fully use the money for business capital. If the business makes a profit, save it. Once you have enough savings to buy a motorbike, go buy it. If your savings reach Rp200 million and you want to buy a car, go ahead. Please, take it from the profit instead of the loan.

That concludes my remarks on this auspicious occasion. Once again, congratulations to 1.552.000 recipients. I hope it will be useful.

Wassalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

(RIF/EP)