Pekanbaru. President Prabowo Subianto on Monday ordered law enforcement agencies to take firm action against companies suspected of deliberately setting forest and land fires, including revoking their business licenses if they are found responsible.

Prabowo stressed that the measures would apply to all companies without exception.

“I ask the police, prosecutors, and intelligence agencies to investigate. If there are indications, report them immediately and we will revoke their licenses,” Prabowo said while chairing a coordination meeting on wildfire response at Roesmin Nurjadin Air Force Base in Pekanbaru, Riau.

“Whoever they are, whatever the corporation, if there is even the slightest indication that they ordered land to be burned, we will revoke their licenses -- all of that corporation’s licenses. I am not playing around,” the president said.

In addition to enforcement against corporations, Prabowo instructed authorities to prevent deliberate land burning by individuals and called for stronger public education at the village level to ensure communities understand the prohibition on clearing land with fire.

The president said people who need to clear land should not be left to resort to burning because they lack alternatives.

He instructed local governments, working with the Indonesian Armed Forces and National Police, to help communities clear land through organized and lawful methods.

Separately, Environment Minister Mohammad Jumhur Hidayat said in Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan, that the government has initiated legal proceedings against around 30 companies in connection with forest and land fires throughout 2026.

Potential state and environmental losses linked to the cases are approaching Rp 15 trillion ($846.7 million), comprising Rp 5 trillion in financial losses to the state and nearly Rp 10 trillion in environmental restoration costs, Jumhur said.

“Law enforcement is already underway, and we are currently taking legal action against around 30 companies,” Jumhur told reporters. “They must pay for state losses and environmental restoration.”

He stressed that the government’s response to forest and land fires goes beyond extinguishing the flames and includes pursuing legal accountability for state losses and environmental restoration where responsibility is established through the legal process.

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