What Does Prabowo Say About Clearing Land by Burning?

August 24, 2026 | 03:34 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Prabowo Subianto has reiterated that land clearing by burning is strictly prohibited and ordered authorities to strengthen public education, law enforcement and early intervention to prevent forest and land fires in Indonesia.

“Make it clear that burning land is strictly prohibited,” Prabowo said while chairing a limited meeting on forest and land fire management at the Riau provincial emergency command post in Pekanbaru on Monday, August 24.

In an official statement, Prabowo instructed authorities to educate communities at the village level about the ban on land burning and its potential consequences. He said the effort was needed to prevent people from deliberately setting fires for any reason.

Government to Help Residents Clear Land

Prabowo said people who need to clear land should report their needs to their village head, subdistrict head or regent. The government would then help organize the land-clearing process without the use of fire.

“If they need to clear land, they should report it to the village head, subdistrict head or regent. The government will then help them,” Prabowo said.

The president said the Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police (Polri) should assist local governments in supporting communities. Land clearing could be organized through farmer groups, with financing available through the People's Business Credit (KUR) program and cooperatives.

“The TNI and Polri will help local governments and the people. It will be organized through farmer groups, and the financing can come through KUR or cooperatives, but they cannot act on their own,” Prabowo said.

Corporations Face Permit Revocation

Prabowo also ordered authorities to take firm action against corporations suspected of directing others to burn land.

He instructed the police, prosecutors and intelligence agencies to investigate any indications of corporate involvement in land burning.

“Especially if there are corporations ordering it, I ask the police, the prosecutors and intelligence agencies to investigate. If there is any indication, report it immediately and we will revoke [their permits],” Prabowo said.

He reiterated that the government would revoke corporate permits if there were indications of involvement in land burning.

“Any corporation, whoever they are, if there is even a slight indication that they ordered people to burn, we will revoke their permits. We will revoke all of the corporation’s permits. I am serious about this,” Prabowo said.

His warning came as authorities stepped up efforts to contain wildfires across parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan. The government is also investigating suspected deliberate burning, with police saying they have named 72 suspects in 89 forest and land fire cases across nine provinces.

Prabowo Orders Early Action on Hotspots

Prabowo also ordered authorities to respond immediately to hotspots, or areas detected as having unusually high temperatures that could indicate fire.

He said authorities should not wait for hotspots to develop into open fires and instructed them to inspect affected areas and prepare water sources, including by drilling wells.

“Do not wait until they become fire spots. Please go into those hotspots. Take early action immediately. Water wells can be drilled in those areas,” Prabowo said.

According to government monitoring data reported Monday, 2,894 hotspots had been detected across 10 provinces on Sumatra, with the highest numbers in South Sumatra, Riau and Jambi. The total burned area across the 10 provinces reached more than 36,000 hectares in 2026.

Prabowo stressed that prevention and law enforcement must go hand in hand so that forest and land fire management does not focus only on extinguishing fires, but also on stopping them from developing in the first place.

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