Jakarta — Related to the recent political sparks involving National Mandate Party (PAN) Chairman Amien Rais, Greenomics Indonesia revealed that the largest land-farming permits were granted by a PAN Secretary-General from 2009-2014.
Greenomics Indonesia Executive Director Vanda Mutia Dewi referred to Zulkifli Hasan, who was the Environment and Forestry Minister from 2009 to 2014. This is an indirect response to Amien Rais’ criticism against President Jokowi’s land certification distribution program.
“The farming permits granted by Zulkifli was 1.64 million acres of land, which is almost 25 times larger than the size of Jakarta,” said Vanda when Tempo contacted her today. Greenomics kept the records from 2004 up to 2017, suggesting that the forest areas that were released to certain businesses were more than 2.4 million acres.
Vanda claims that more than 91 percent of the land farming permits were granted under the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono administration. For comparison, the farmland permits granted under the Jokowi administration is just 200,000 acres or less than nine percent.
Vanda argues that Amien Rais needs to take notice of these legal records,” A PAN cadre is recorded to be the champion in handing out farmland permits to certain business groups during his reign as the Forestry Minister,” said Vanda. According to her, what she meant to certain private business groups refers to land spaces used for palm tree fields.
