The PKH Task Force’s Quiet Work: Tens of Trillion in State Funds Saved

President Prabowo Subianto has expressed his outrage at the actions of corporations and individuals involved in land and forest crimes.

According to Prabowo, for decades they have used every means possible to profit from nature and the environment. Prabowo said they have no qualms about inciting the people or paying thugs to obstruct investigations.

“We know that in every, in every organisation of ours, we must understand that for a long time, for a very long time, our republic has been under attack. Every institution, every organisation has been corrupted by corrupt officials, who bribe officials at every level, my fellow citizens. We must fight this, and we will fight this, and we are currently fighting this, and you, my fellow citizens, are the spearhead,” said Prabowo.

He delivered this message whilst attending a ceremony to hand over the results of the recovery of state assets by the Forest Area Enforcement Task Force (Satgas PKH) at the Attorney General’s Office on 24 December 2025.

Although he expressed his frustration on several occasions, Prabowo also praised the team he had formed at the start of his administration. According to him, the PKH Task Force continued to work quietly, far from the glare of the cameras and the media.

“You have all worked extremely hard under very difficult conditions, in challenging terrain, having to verify and inspect 4,000,000 hectares,” said Prabowo.

“This is in remote areas, unseen by the media, unseen by cameras, unseen by influencers, vloggers and so on. I thank you all,” he said.

The PKH Task Force is a special cross-agency team comprising various institutions and ministries tasked with restoring state control over areas of illegal forestry.

The PKH Task Force was established on 21 January 2025 by Presidential Regulation No. 5 of 2025 on the PKH. The Task Force involves 12 agencies, including the Attorney General’s Office, the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), the Indonesian National Police (Polri), and the Ministry of Forestry.

According to the Presidential Regulation, the PKH Task Force comprises two structures: a steering committee and an executive team. The steering committee is chaired by the Minister of Defence, who is flanked by the Attorney General, the Commander-in-Chief of the TNI, and the Chief of the National Police, serving as first, second and third vice-chairs respectively.

Meanwhile, the executive team is chaired by the Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus), assisted by the TNI Chief of Staff, the Head of the Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim), and the Deputy for Investigations at the Financial and Development Supervision Agency (BPKP), each serving as first to third vice-chairpersons respectively.

Under them are 18 members comprising directors-general from various ministries and agencies. These range from the Director-General of Defence at the Ministry of Defence, the Director-General of Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Forestry, the Director-General of Spatial Planning at the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN), to the Head of the Military Judicial Authority (Jamdatun).

Since its formation in January 2025, the committee has held between 6 and 8 press conferences, the majority of which were attended in person by Prabowo. The President’s presence at these press conferences is usually accompanied by the display of a mountain of cash, symbolising the return of state assets.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is the eighth such event. And the total cash handed over amounts to approximately 52 trillion. Rp52 trillion – around US$3 billion – which we have recovered in two years,” said Prabowo on Tuesday (6 October).

On several occasions, Prabowo has frequently praised the performance of the PKH Task Force. Indeed, he has stated that anyone who attempts to oppose the task force is effectively taking on the President directly.

“If anyone threatens a member of the PKH Task Force, they are threatening the President of the Republic of Indonesia,” said Prabowo during a ceremony at the Attorney General’s Office in Jakarta on Friday (10 April), where Rp11.4 trillion was handed over following the collection of administrative forestry fines by the PKH Task Force.

PKH Task Force spokesperson Barita Simanjuntak said that since its formation in January 2025, a total of 6.2 million hectares of illegally occupied forest areas have been returned to state control. According to Barita, these areas were previously controlled by corporations and individuals.

Meanwhile, from the proceeds of the fines, the PKH Task Force has handed over Rp52 trillion to the state coffers, whilst the value of the forest area’s assets amounts to Rp400 trillion.

“The value of the forest area assets there, based on the valuation, amounts to nearly Rp400 trillion, and this figure will continue to rise,” said Barita when contacted on Thursday (15 October).

By the end of 2026, Barita stated that the PKH Task Force aims to reclaim a further 2.8 million hectares, bringing the total to 9 million hectares. However, he noted that this figure is still far from the total area of illegal forest land, which currently stands at tens of millions of hectares.

“Our objective is to bring all forest areas under control, which are estimated to cover tens of millions of hectares,” he said.

Although it has recovered trillions in state assets, Barita said the Task Force still faces a number of challenges. These range from human resources and working hours to the various methods used for illegal forest occupation.

According to Barita, the task force cannot rely solely on written documents but must also verify the situation on the ground. The problem, he said, is that not all forest terrain in Indonesia is easily accessible.

As a tropical region, many areas are difficult to access when carrying out field inspections.

“Our forest areas are extremely remote because they are located in tropical forests and in regions with coordinates that are quite difficult to reach,” he said.

Furthermore, the team frequently faces resistance from parties with vested interests in illegal forest occupation. This resistance takes various forms, both on the ground and in the legal sphere.

This is because many land occupations have been ongoing for decades. It is not uncommon, said Barita, for the process to involve lobbying in the form of bribes. Barita acknowledged that such practices are carried out by interested parties.

“We’re well aware of that. We’re here to enforce the law, and our duties are, after all, assigned to us by the state. So we understand the situation,” he said.

“But why has it become a little more difficult? Because for decades this was allowed to continue; for decades we turned a blind eye, whilst certain individuals involved were reaping these benefits unlawfully,” added Barita.

Agus Riewanto, Professor of Constitutional Law at Sebelas Maret University (UNS), praised the effectiveness of the PKH Task Force’s performance in the less than two years since its formation. Without much rhetoric, he said, the task force has succeeded in becoming…