Indonesian Ombudsman Receives 275 Reports in the First Half of 2023, Most Concerning Land Issues

The Indonesian Ombudsman received 275 public complaints during the first half of 2023. These complaints covered 27 different subjects, with land issues accounting for the largest number, totaling 63 reports during that period.

Head of the Main Assistance for Resolution and Monitoring of the Indonesian Ombudsman, Dominikus Dalu, stated that one land-related complaint involved a dispute between community members claiming ownership of land and state-owned plantation company PTPN II in North Sumatra. Another dispute involved complaints from Lhokseumawe, Aceh, regarding a road construction project where the community did not receive compensation.

"In the PTPN II dispute, the Ombudsman has recommended that the relevant parties implement the court's decision. The Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency stated that it will seek a judicial review with the Supreme Court," said Dominikus in a virtual press conference on Friday, August 11, 2023.

The next highest number of complaints came from personnel matters, with a total of 60 reports. These reports concerned unmet rights of civil servants (PNS).

This was followed by reports related to villages and permits, with 28 and 26 reports respectively. Dominikus mentioned that reports regarding the issuance of land ownership certificates through the Systematic Land Registration Program were also frequently reported.

Reports concerning villages generally involved village officials dismissed without proper procedure.

Other complaints totaled 98 reports.

Of these reports, 63% or 174 have been resolved, while 37% or 101 are still under process.

The Indonesian Ombudsman also stated that the impact of resolving these public reports at the resolution and monitoring stage resulted in the direct return of Rp7.68 billion in funds to the public.

Other benefits included obtaining permits, policy improvements, system improvements, and others obtained by the reporting community.