In brief
Indonesia’s Indonesian Muslim Students Association (PB HMI) welcomed the police for naming 20 companies implicated in recent forest and land fires. PB HMI stresses that naming suspects is only the first step; investigations must stay transparent and enforcement must include restoration and compensation. The organization urges equal treatment of local and foreign corporations and calls for stronger preventive measures.
In Jakarta, the Indonesian Muslim Students Association’s Central Executive Board (PB HMI) welcomed the police for naming 20 companies as suspects in recent forest and land fires. The announcement came on a Saturday when the police released a list of corporate entities accused of fire negligence, a move PB HMI said was a significant advance toward environmental accountability.
Pertaining to the action, Herdiansyah Iskandar, PB HMI’s deputy secretary‑general for strategic policy, remarked that prosecuting companies is essential to ensuring equal treatment under the law. “However, naming suspects must not end the process,” he said. “The state must ensure investigations remain transparent, professional and accountable to provide legal certainty.”
He explained that forest and land fires are not just law‑enforcement issues but matters of environmental justice that demand more than punitive action after damage has occurred. PB HMI called on authorities to strengthen prevention by reviewing permits, monitoring concessions, conducting environmental audits and improving early‑detection systems in fire‑prone areas.
Iskandar highlighted the need to hold companies accountable for environmental protection obligations and to make corporate law enforcement conditional on restoration. He urged authorities to compel responsible firms to rehabilitate ecosystems and pay compensation in accordance with applicable laws. He noted that the impact of fires extends beyond forest destruction to public health, local economies, livelihoods and long‑term ecosystem sustainability, stressing that success should not be measured only by the number of named suspects but also by restoration outcomes and community protection.
In addressing foreign‑invested companies, Iskandar stressed the importance of upholding Indonesia’s legal sovereignty. He said the same environmental laws must apply equally to all parties, regardless of business size, financial resources or investment origin. “Indonesia welcomes investment, but not at the expense of the environment,” he added. He called for avoiding preferential treatment and ensuring all companies operating in the country comply with Indonesian law.
The police’s list of 20 suspects includes firms from the palm‑oil, mining, and plantation sectors—industries often linked with large‑scale forest fires. While the police said investigations are ongoing, PB HMI indicated that the process must remain open and that the government’s role includes enforcement, restoration, and preventive regulation.
PB HMI’s stance reflects broader civil‑society concerns that environmental damage has long‑lasting consequences for biodiversity and community well‑being. The organization urges an integrated approach that combines legal action, systematic monitoring, and restorative measures to prevent future fires.
Nonetheless, the specific mechanisms for ensuring transparency, the timeline for investigations, and the conditions under which corporations must restore fire‑affected areas remain unresolved. Whether the government will extend equal scrutiny to foreign investors, and how the compensation packages will be structured, are still questions that PB HMI has raised but not yet answered. The organization’s leaders therefore emphasize that the state must continue to develop clear policies and enforce them with accountability to achieve true environmental restoration and justice.
