InfoSAWIT, KUTAI TIMUR – One palm oil plantation company in District of Kutai Timur (Kutim), East Kalimantan Province, PT BMA was the focus of Kutim Legislators. It was assumed to develop palm oil plantations out of its business rights. The controversy raised in the hearing among Kutim Legislators with National Land Agency, Land Agency, Plantation Agency, Public Work and People’s Housing.

Member of Kutim Legislators, Faizal Rachman said that the institution got report from the people that PT. BMA developed palm oil plantations out of its business rights. To get it right, he did field visit and took coordinate and even documented the field condition through photos and drone video.

In the meeting, he showed every document, border. It indicated palm oil plantations were suspected to develop out of business rights. The interesting was that the plantations were suspected to be planted next to the shore. Head of PSP PTK Land Agency District of Kutim, M Saipul Anwar told that the institution got official documents from three smallholders’ groups and one owner of swift’s nest on 26 September 2023 about the planting out of business rights. Field check showed the match with what the people’s complaint and business rights data that was got from the first review by National Land Agency on 14 February 2023.

"Around the concrete stakes seemed to be planted by palm oil. If the stakes are made, these are the borders. No more planting for palm oil. But to the left and right sides, palm oil trees grow,” Saipul said, as quoted from aktualborneo.com.

Faizal Rachman urged the representatives of National Land Agency to deliver coordinate data of the company’s business rights to get validation. The representative of National Land Agency, Indah could not directly say much, she would ask the coordinate data to be managed in National Land Agency and would be delivered to Kutim Legislators.

From the meeting, Kutim Legislators and related parties agreed to review the location to make sure that plantation development out of business rights. Faizal also told, if everything is right, there should be legal enforcement according to available regulations.

“If the company really developed palm oil plantations out of its business rights, we would report (to the official institution) to solve the case. There would be sanctions for the ‘naughty companies,” he said. (T2)