Prabowo Orders Officials to Villages to Educate on Fire Ban

President Prabowo Subianto has issued a strong directive for all government apparatus to actively engage in preventing forest and land fires (karhutla) by visiting villages. During a meeting on karhutla handling in Riau, Prabowo stressed that burning land for any reason is strictly forbidden. He emphasized the need for thorough explanations and education for all community members in every village regarding this prohibition.

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Then all apparatuses prevent if there are individuals or people who intentionally burn for any reason. Give explanations, educate all elements in all villages, explain that burning land is strictly prohibited.

Addressing communities that require land clearing, Prabowo instructed authorities to provide assistance. This includes offering explanations and facilitating potential funding through initiatives like Kredit Usaha Rakyat (KUR). He stated that the TNI (Indonesian National Armed Forces) and Polri (Indonesian National Police) would support local governments in aiding the public, organizing them into farmer groups and providing financial support through cooperatives, but warned against "wild" or uncontrolled practices.

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TNI and Polri will assist local governments in helping the people. Organized per farmer group, organized, the costs can be through KUR, cooperatives, but they are not allowed to be wild.

Furthermore, Prabowo directed law enforcement agencies to investigate and take decisive action against any corporations suspected of involvement in forest fires. He declared that permits would be revoked for any corporation found to have even the slightest indication of involvement in inciting fires, underscoring his zero-tolerance approach. "I am not playing around," he stated.

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If there is an indication, immediately report, we will immediately revoke, whoever the corporation is, if there is the slightest indication they are involved in ordering fires, we will revoke their permit. All corporate permits will be revoked. I am not playing around.

In a related move, Prabowo traveled to Pekanbaru, Riau, to personally assess the karhutla situation. Secretary of the Cabinet, Teddy Indra Wijaya, explained that the President wanted to directly observe the conditions on the ground, ensuring that mitigation efforts were progressing effectively and that decisions were implemented swiftly and accurately. This visit highlights the government's commitment to not only extinguishing current fires but also strengthening preventive measures to avoid future occurrences.

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The President wants to ensure the handling is completed, not just receive reports, but see and hear the conditions on the ground directly, ensure the hotspots are truly extinguished, and all decisions made are implemented quickly, integrated, and precisely.