Mensesneg Explains Why Forestry Minister Was Absent From Prabowo’s Forest Fire Meeting
PALEMBANG — Minister of State Secretary (Mensesneg) Prasetyo Hadi has explained why Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni was not present at several of President Prabowo Subianto’s meetings and field visits concerning forest and land fires, or karhutla, in Kalimantan and Sumatra.
Raja Juli was not seen when Prabowo chaired a meeting and inspected forest and land fire locations in West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan on Saturday (Aug. 22, 2026). His absence was also noted when Prabowo carried out a similar agenda in Riau and South Sumatra on Monday (Aug. 24, 2026).
Prasetyo said there was no particular reason behind the Forestry Minister’s absence. He explained that Raja Juli had previously made several visits to areas affected by forest and land fires, including South Sumatra.
“No, it just happened that the Forestry Minister had already visited the field several times, including South Sumatra. The Environment Minister also visited South Sumatra yesterday. So this is simply a matter of coincidence,” Prasetyo said in Palembang, as quoted by detikcom.
Prasetyo said Prabowo’s visits to several areas in Kalimantan and Sumatra were primarily aimed at strengthening support from the Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police (Polri) in dealing with forest and land fires on the ground.
According to him, the President wanted to ensure that additional personnel and equipment could be deployed if needed to strengthen firefighting efforts.
“So this is simply a matter of coincidence,” Prasetyo said.
He said Prabowo had also asked the TNI commander and National Police chief to prepare additional resources if necessary. The support could include personnel and equipment, including water-bombing helicopters and modified trail motorcycles.
“Today, the President is indeed focused on asking the TNI Commander and the National Police Chief to increase their strength if personnel or equipment are needed, including water-bombing helicopters. There was also a request for modified trail motorcycles,” he explained.
Prasetyo again stressed that Raja Juli’s absence from the meetings on forest and land fire management was not related to any particular issue.
“So it was simply a matter of coincidence,” he added.
