Dayak Leader Asks Prabowo to Allow Tattoos for Indigenous People Joining Military, Police

Panglima Jilah met with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, seeking continued government support for forest fire prevention and development in West Kalimantan. Jilah highlighted the president's assistance with issues such as traditional houses, schools, scholarships, roads, and hospitals.

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We discussed forest and land fires. He is helping us with personnel to speed things up. And this has already started, for about a week.

A key point of discussion was the aspiration of the Dayak community to serve in the Indonesian military and police. Panglima Jilah specifically requested that the requirements be adapted, particularly concerning the presence of tattoos, which are significant in Dayak culture. This aims to open pathways for indigenous people to join national security forces.

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The President has helped us a lot, especially in West Kalimantan, with traditional houses, schools, scholarships, roads, infrastructure, hospitals, scholarships, and the TNI-Polri.

The meeting also addressed the recurring issue of forest and land fires (karhutla). Jilah clarified that traditional Dayak farming, which typically occurs on mineral land, should not be conflated with large-scale plantation fires on peatlands. He emphasized the community's role in monitoring and preventing such fires, stressing their deep connection to nature.

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The desire of the Dayak people to become members of the TNI-Polri, the requirements are adjusted again, for example, the use of tattoos for indigenous people.

Jilah asserted that traditional farming practices have existed among the Dayak people long before the development of plantations. He stated that the community's close relationship with the environment makes them natural stewards. Through adat leaders, they are educating the community against indiscriminate burning, underscoring their commitment to preserving the environment.

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So, fields are sometimes simultaneous with plantations. In the end, the farmers are blamed. But actually, people who farm are not on peatlands. People who farm are on mineral land.