President Prabowo Ends Dispute of 4 Aceh-North Sumatra Islands, DPR Appreciates Firm and Fair Decision
Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto has officially decided on the ownership status of four islands that have been disputed between the Provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra. In a limited meeting held at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Tuesday (6/17/2025), the government decided that the four islands legally belong to the Aceh Provincial Government administratively.
The decision was conveyed directly by Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi in a press conference after the meeting attended by Deputy Speaker of the DPR Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian, Governor of North Sumatra Bobby Nasution, and Governor of Aceh Muzakir Manaf.
“The limited meeting was held in order to find a way out of the dynamic problems of the 4 islands in North Sumatra and Aceh,” said Prasetyo.
He explained that the decision was taken after the government reviewed supporting documents and data from both parties. Based on the verification results, the four islands, namely Panjang Island, Lipan Island, Mangkir Gadang Island, and Mangkir Ketek Island, are administratively part of Aceh Province.
“Based on the report from the Ministry of Home Affairs, based on supporting data documents, then earlier the President decided that the government based on the basic documents owned by the government has made a decision that the four islands, namely Panjang Island, Lipan Island, then Mangkir Gadang Island, and Mangkir Ketek Island, are administratively part of Aceh based on the documents owned by the government,” he said,” said Prasetyo.
President Prabowo’s firm steps received appreciation from a member of the Indonesian House of Representatives from the NasDem Party Faction, Muslim Ayub. He welcomed the decision positively as a form of fair leadership that sides with data.
“We thank President Prabowo for taking a firm and fair stance. The four islands do belong to Aceh, and have now been officially recognized as part of our territory,” said Muslim.
He added that the decision was based on authentic evidence from the Aceh Government, while North Sumatra did not have supporting documents for their ownership claim. “North Sumatra has no strong evidence,” he stressed.**
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