PRIME NEWS POST
The Indonesian Jakarta) — The Indonesian Customary Council (MAI) has officially stated its firm stance against the rampant illegal mining and logging practices, which are considered the main cause of ecological disasters in the Sumatra region, resulting in significant losses and casualties in various areas.
This stance was conveyed in the Indonesian Customary Council (MAI) Communication Forum, attended by Kings, Sultans, Datuks, Queens, and customary stakeholders from across the archipelago, Monday (December 1, 2025).
MAI urges the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, to take firm and uncompromising action to arrest all perpetrators of illegal mining and logging, to uncover and prosecute those backing these crimes, and to enforce environmental law fairly and comprehensively from upstream to downstream.
MAI assesses that allowing these environmental crimes has become a crime against humanity, as it directly impacts the destruction of nature, the loss of people’s livelihoods, and the loss of life due to flash floods, landslides, and ecosystem damage.
Secretary-General of MAI: Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources and Minister of Environment and Forestry Must Be Evaluated and Dismissed
In the forum, the Secretary-General of the Indonesian Customary Council, Dato’ M. Rafik Datuk Rajo Kuaso, made a strong statement regarding the performance of two strategic ministries that are considered to have failed to protect the people and the environment.
“We ask President Prabowo Subianto to immediately dismiss the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, because the overly complicated licensing policies for community mining have forced small communities to enter illegal mining without AMDAL (Environmental Impact Assessment) standards and environmental safety,” said Dato’ Rafik.
According to him, indigenous peoples and small communities who should be given legal access and assistance are instead marginalized by a licensing system that is not impartial.
In addition, MAI also firmly requested the President to dismiss the Minister of Environment and Forestry (LHK), Raja Juli, who is considered to have failed to stop illegal logging practices that have damaged customary forests and water catchment areas.
“If illegal logging continues to be allowed, then disasters will continue to recur. This is not just administrative negligence, this is a crime against the future of the nation,” he continued.
MAI: The State Must Not Be Defeated by Mining and Timber Mafia
The Indonesian Customary Council asserts that the state must not submit to or be defeated by the mining and timber mafia. Environmental crimes must be treated as extraordinary crimes because their impact is cross-generational.
The MAI Forum also called for: Customary territories to be legally protected from illegal exploitation, Indigenous communities to be involved as guardians of forests and nature, Community mining access to be granted legally, transparently, and sustainably, Law enforcement to be carried out up to the intellectual actors and major financiers.
MAI’s Commitment to Guarding the Rescue of the Archipelago’s Nature
MAI affirms that it will morally, traditionally, and constitutionally oversee every step the government takes in saving the environment and the rights of indigenous peoples throughout the archipelago.
“Nature is the mother of life. If nature is destroyed, then this nation is digging its own grave,” Dato’ Rafik concludEditorial Note:
Reported by the PRIME NEWS POST correspondent, compiled from various media sources. Photo: documentation / public archiveed in his affirming statement.
Editorial Note:
Reported by the PRIME NEWS POST correspondent, compiled from various media sources. Photo: documentation / public archive
