- tvOne
VIVAnews – A member of Commission III of the House of Representative (DPR) from Gerindra Faction, Martin Hutabarat, said that irregular land permit in Mesuji has caused many land-related disputes between the local residents and the plantation companies.
The land disputes, according to Martin, happen every year. “(The land dispute) was unsolved, which ultimately led to violence. Many (residents) were arrested,” Martin said today, Dec 19.
Two companies recorded different land disputes. They are PT. Silva Inhutani and PT. Barat Selatan Makmur Investasi (BSMI). In PT. Silva Inhutani’s case, described Martin, irregularity was found in Register 45, the region where the company obtained a permit and rights to manage industrial plantation.
The dispute in Register 45, Martin said, was linked to in a land plot of 33,500 hectares which was officially owned by the government in 1998. Later on, the government issued a permit to a Malaysian company, PT. Silva Inhutani, for industrial plantation. However, in 2002, the government revoked the permit.
In 2004, the government re-issued the permit back to PT. Silva Inhutani. The government even allowed the company to expand the land they managed to 42,760 hectares.
“The problem is that the company is a Malaysia-based company. Whereas (State-owned company) can’t be sold (to a foreign company),” Martin said.
PT. Silva Inhutani, said Martin, was also suspected of violating the Decree of Ministry of Forestry. The decree stipulates that the company was to grow industrial trees. However, Silva Inhutani grows cassava and pineapple crops.
“So the residents began to wonder, if it was just to grow cassava and pineapples, why can’t they do it? After all, the land is owned by the State,” he said.
The land permit given to PT. Barat Selatan Makmur Investasi was also likely irregular. Martin explained that the State gave the permit to this company to manage industrial plant on 10,000 hectares of land.
The decree defines that the 7,000 hectares of land managed by PT. BSMI was intended as plasma for the community. “But, this was not applied. So, the residents decided to cultivate the land which caused the conflict between the residents and the company,” he said. PT. BSMI is also a Malaysia-based company, he added.
