Coup d’œil Land Mafia

The tweet of Indonesia’s former Deputy Foreign Minister Dino Patti Jalal shocked Twitter. On his Twitter page, @dinopattidjalal posted a tweet containing a photo of a woman suspected of being a land fraud suspect belonging to his mother. He also wrote a gift of 10 million rupiahs for the netizens who could find the person in the post.

Less than a month later, the figure who had also been a Senior Advisor of the President in the era of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono tweeted the update of his land fraud case along with the hashtag #BerantasMafiaTanah, which went on trending on Twitter. Although he had a legal fight from the person he accused of being a land mafia¹Dino Patti Djalal Dipolisikan soal Cuitan Mafia Tanah. Retrieved March 15, 2021, from https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20210214151400-12-606103/dino-patti-djalal-dipolisikan-soal-cuitan-mafia-tanah utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=oa&utm_content=cnnindonesia&utm_campaign=cmssocmed, the perpetrator and his accomplices could finally be arrested. 

Like a tit for tat, after the case was resolved, the Indonesian National Police, together with the Ministry of National Land and Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning, immediately formed an Anti-Mafia Land Task Force to respond to the many reports from the public-facing similar cases²Persada, S. (2021, February 22). Polri Bentuk Satgas Anti Mafia Tanah. Tempo. https://nasional.tempo.co/read/1435371/polri-bentuk-satgas-anti-mafia-tanah. The war against land mafia practices was echoed.

La Cosa Nostra!

Land mafia is an expression that refers to a group of people who commit fraud by exploiting the gaps in the land system regulation to gain profit. According to Indonesian Property Consumer Advocacy Institute Land Law Expert Erwin Kallo, the land mafia’s most common method of fraud is counterfeiting land certificates³Bahfein, S. (n.d.). Modus Mafia Tanah Hanya Satu: Uang! Halaman all—Kompas.com. Retrieved March 15, 2021, from https://www.kompas.com/properti/read/2021/03/12/190000321/modus-mafia-tanah-hanya-satu–uang-?page=all.

There are at least three levels utilized by the syndicate in the forgery of this certificate: the forgery of the certificate blanks, this level is usually easy to know through the audit process; the theft of the original certificate blanks by the National Land Agency (BPN), the data listed in the blanks typed by themselves by the person; as well as the forgery of warkah tanah, or land documents containing physical data and juridical data in land registration activities.

Old Story Reprising

The practice of the land mafia has been happening for a long time in Indonesia. Chairman of the Indonesian Land Mafia Victims Forum (FKMTI), S. Kendi Budiardjo, stated the rise of land grab cases was induced by improper implementation of the Agrarian Basic Law (UUPA) of 1960 and PP Number 10 of 1961⁴Setiawan, I. (n.d.). Buka Riwayat dan Dokumen untuk Ungkap Perampasan Tanah | Hukum. Retrieved March 15, 2021, from https://www.gatra.com/detail/news/501519/hukum/buka-riwayat-dan-dokumen-untuk-ungkap-perampasan-tanah. The problem has not been finished yet, but the New Order government, on the contrary, issued PP No. 24 of 1997, which is considered detrimental to the people because it gives space to land mafia practice. Government regulation is often used to justify BPN employees for their mistakes in issuing SHGB (Certificate of Building Rights) on SHM (Certificate of Property) or customary land owned by the people.

This is evidenced by the many cases of land conflicts that emerged in the 1990s, such as the land grab cases experienced by Robert Sudjasmin, Rusli Wahyudi, Nugroho, Samiun, and many other transmigrants that occurred in the early 1990s⁵niteni.id. (2021, January 19). Saber Pungli Segera Selesaikan Kasus Perampasan Tanah Rakyat -. Niteni.id. https://niteni.id/saber-pungli-segera-selesaikan-kasus-perampasan-tanah-rakyat/. State-Owned Enterprises such as KAI, Pelindo, and land for irrigation also suffered land grab scams in addition to small communities.

Supported by Many Factors

There are several factors that caused the practice of land mafia rather prevalent in Indonesia⁶Ardiansyah, F. (2021, March 12). Oknum BPN Disebut Ikut Bermain dan Suburkan Praktik Mafia Tanah Halaman all. KOMPAS.com. https://www.kompas.com/properti/read/2021/03/12/200531821/oknum-bpn-disebut-ikut-bermain-dan-suburkan-praktik-mafia-tanah. First, there are government insiders involved in this fraud. Some are even proven to be engaging in corrupt practices to pass the issuance of certificates on behalf of the mafia personnel for such gratification. This practice has been adopted even at a regional scale, as lurah and camat heads are also known to fall into this unethical business. Accompanied with already-poorly trained officials of the National Land Agency (BPN) being negligent when issuing land certificates, it’s no surprise that the land in Indonesia turned into free meals for land mafias.

The next factor is that property prices in Indonesia are skyrocketing. Based on the Residential Property Price Index issued by Bank Indonesia, despite the slowdown trend due to the Covid-19 pandemic, property prices were still growing in the range of 1.5–3%⁷Pertumbuhan Indeks Harga Properti Residensial, 2019-2020. (2020, October 28). https://lokadata.beritagar.id/chart/preview/pertumbuhan-indeks-harga-properti-residensial-2019-2020-1603865180 in 2019-2020. This data is supported by Indonesia’s average land price has reached Rp3.17 million per square meter⁸Aria Putera, N. (n.d.). BKPM: Harga tanah di Indonesia mahal. Retrieved March 17, 2021, from https://www.alinea.id/bisnis/bkpm-harga-tanah-di-indonesia-mahal-b1ZWE9ypD, as stated by the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM). That makes Indonesia ranked first in the highest land prices in ASEAN⁹Ika Ramadhani, P. (2020, July 21). Tanah di Indonesia Paling Mahal se-ASEAN, Berapa Harganya? liputan6.com. https://www.liputan6.com/bisnis/read/4310948/tanah-di-indonesia-paling-mahal-se-asean-berapa-harganya, and second in Asia¹⁰Ariyanti, F. (2015, October 28). Harga Tanah di Indonesia Termahal Kedua se-Asia. liputan6.com. https://www.liputan6.com/properti/read/2350885/harga-tanah-di-indonesia-termahal-kedua-se-asia. The high price brings significant profit potential for land mafias. Matters worsen with the weakness of land regulation and administration in Indonesia. It was recorded that in 2019, Indonesian land with legit certification is only 40% of all land certification issued¹¹Hutapea, E. (2019, January 28). Baru 40 Persen Masyarakat Indonesia yang Memiliki Sertifikat Tanah https://properti.kompas.com/read/2019/01/28/203121221/baru-40-persen-masyarakat-indonesia-yang-memiliki-sertifikat-tanah.

Now or Never

If we look at the World Bank report, the benefits of implementing this land registration program are enormous, including reducing costs and increasing income and assets for beneficiaries. In the long term, this improvement can be seen from the economic growth in the national balance¹²Satana, S., Törhönen, M., Anand, A., & Adlington, G. ,2014. Economic Impact of 20 Years of ECA Land Registration Projects Economic Impact of 20 Years of ECA Land Registration Projects.

Then empirically, according to Byamugisha (1999)¹³Byamugisha, F. (1999). The Effects of Land Registration on Financial Development and Economic Growth Framework. Policy Research Working Paper, November 1999., when reviewed from the political-economic dimension, it is proven that there is a positive relationship between private property and economic growth. Similarly, agricultural economists and urban real estate specialists have also empirically proven a link between land ownership security and land productivity in the sectors they are interested in.

Indonesia should hurry. If we look at the statement from the Minister of National Land and Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning, Sofyan Djalil, countries such as Korea and Japan have registered all their land since 100 years ago, while Taiwan has since the 1940s after the war¹⁴Sukmana, Y. (n.d.). Kapan Indonesia Bebas Mafia Tanah? Retrieved March 17, 2021, from https://ekonomi.kompas.com/read/2019/01/10/224700026/kapan-indonesia-bebas-mafia-tanah-. If Indonesia does not immediately register all its lands, problems such as this land mafia may continue to exist and incur huge losses.

The number of infrastructure development programs that have recently been intensified by the government, followed by a compensation mechanism for community land acquisition, has also created opportunities for the land mafia to carry out their practices. The land mafia took advantage of the momentum by taking over ownership of land belonging to citizens that would be released under the project and selling it at very high prices to the government.

We Are Not Alone (In Fighting The Land Mafia)

Indonesia is not alone in dealing with land mafia practices. Several other developing countries such as India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan also face similar problems. However, unlike those countries, the condition of the land mafia managed to exacerbate the investment climate in Indonesia. Indonesia is still less attractive to investors in its 2020 Incremental Capital Output Ratio, which is still around 6.8 due to the high cost of investing in Indonesia. This figure is lower than neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand¹⁵Redaksi. (n.d.). ICOR di Asia Tenggara: Indonesia Kalah Jauh dari Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam dan Filipina | AsiaToday.id. Retrieved March 17, 2021, from https://asiatoday.id/read/icor-di-asia-tenggara-indonesia-kalah-jauh-dari-thailand-malaysia-vietnam-dan-filipina. 

Sofyan Jalil also revealed that the land mafia practice was one of the triggers behind 33 foreign companies avoiding investment in Indonesia¹⁶Hartomo, G. (n.d.). 33 Perusahaan Tak Investasi di RI Ulah Mafia Tanah: Okezone Economy. Retrieved March 17, 2021, from https://economy.okezone.com/read/2019/10/11/470/2115838/33-perusahaan-tak-investasi-di-ri-ulah-mafia-tanah. For example, the mafia practice in Banten has recently hampered investment in the South Korean company Lotte Chemical at the end of 2019, which has an investment value of USD 4 billion or equivalent to IDR 56 trillion¹⁷Gideon, A. (2019, October 11). Mafia Tanah Hambat Investasi hingga Rp 50 Triliun. liputan6.com. https://www.liputan6.com/bisnis/read/4084000/mafia-tanah-hambat-investasi-hingga-rp-50-triliun.

State-owned companies, such as Pertamina, also felt the impact of the land mafia. Pertamina suffered a loss of 224 billion rupiahs due to losing a dispute with a party suspected of being the land mafia¹⁸Ernes, Y. (n.d.). Jadi Korban Praktik Mafia Tanah, Pertamina Kehilangan Rp 244 M. Retrieved March 17, 2021, from https://news.detik.com/berita/d-5490359/jadi-korban-praktik-mafia-tanah-pertamina-kehilangan-rp-244-m.

The government’s priority projects are also subject to land mafia practices. One of them is the development of the Labuan Bajo tourist area. The elements involved have even taken over the customary land belonging to the local customary community. This case caused losses to the state amounting to 3 trillion rupiahs and led to several names, such as local heads of regions and foreign citizens¹⁹Nizzardo Fabio, WN Italia Tersangka Korupsi Rp 1,3 Triliun di Labuan Bajo Ditahan—Daerah JPNN.com. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2021, from https://www.jpnn.com/news/nizzardo-fabio-wn-italia-tersangka-korupsi-rp-13-triliun-di-labuan-bajo-ditahan.

Just giving away certificates is not enough, Mr. President

President Joko Widodo’s efforts to distribute certificates directly to the public indicate that there have been good intentions from the central government to provide security for landowners, especially for small communities. However, this is not enough, if not being offset by improvements to the land registration system. 

One solution to improve the land registration system is to implement a positive land registration system, meaning land certificates as the strongest proof of legal ownership still can be aborted by other parties who could provide stronger legitimate proofs of ownership²⁰Widjanarko, B. S. (2017). PREVENTING LAND MAFIA USING POSITIVE LAND REGISTRY SYSTEM. The 2nd Proceeding “Indonesia Clean of Corruption in 2020″, 0(0), Article 0. http://jurnal.unissula.ac.id/index.php/the2ndproceeding/article/view/1147. Empowerment cooperation between the village government, village officials, and the village community itself must be carried out in order to be able to obtain accurate, up-to-date data.

All plots of land boundary in the village are marked and mapped by shareholders, recorded, verified, announced, and then approved as original data fields plotted by villagers (contradiktur delimitation). All processes are monitored by government land officials whom the court can later ratify. This positive land registration system provides the most robust complete evidence that a judge cannot overturn in court. Lastly, Indonesia must immediately conduct an inventory of plot data on ownership, use, utilization, and land valuation (P5T) through empowering village governments by using Musyawarah Pembangunan Bermitra Masyarakat (MPBM) simultaneously/in stages throughout the Republic of Indonesia. Legal certainty in a positive land registration system can prevent the movement of the land mafia, increase economic efficiency, social, political, and government security, which results in the emergence of the Indonesian people’s welfare.

Editor: Tahtia Sazwara, Haikal Qinthara, Tesalonika Hana