Indonesian National Land Agency Head Nusron Wahid Apologizes
A recent statement by the Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency (ATR/BPN), Nusron Wahid, has drawn public attention and sparked debate on social media. This relates to his remarks regarding state ownership of land, which are considered to have caused misunderstandings among the public.
In an official statement, Nusron explained that his statement referred to abandoned land that has not been utilized for two years, not privately owned land that is being used as intended.
According to him, the state has the right to take over land that is left unused in accordance with applicable law.
“The state fundamentally owns the land, while the community has rights to that land through a legal relationship evidenced by a certificate. If land has not been utilized for two years, the state has the right to take it over. But this applies to abandoned land, not privately owned land that is being used,” Nusron emphasized on Tuesday (August 12, 2025).
Nusron also apologized for the uproar caused by his statement. He emphasized that the people still have land ownership rights as long as the land is used according to its intended purpose.
“There was a statement I made that caused a misperception, triggering wild interpretations among the public, especially among netizens. Therefore, we sincerely apologize for this misunderstanding,” he said.
He added, “This doesn’t mean that if we say the state owns the land, the people have no rights at all. What is true is that the state regulates the legal relationship between the people, as landowners, and the land itself.”
With this clarification, Nusron hopes that the public controversy will subside and that understanding of land ownership regulations will become clearer.
