Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) drew emphasis on the importance of a land certificate as a sign of legal certainty for land owners in Dairi District, North Sumatra.

"If you have a house or land for about 15 to 20 years without certificate and in case someone claims that the land is theirs, then you have no proof of legal certainty. This is the importance of legal certainty over land rights, which are called certificates," Jokowi stated on Thursday.

As a sign of legal evidence, the land certificate bears the name of the owner along with the area of land owned.

The head of state noted that the issue of land certificates was a cause for concern on account of rampant land disputes in the regions between residents as well as those between residents and the government, and residents and private companies. Jokowi stated that the problem cannot be solved owing to the absence of a land certificate.

"In North Sumatra, there are so many land disputes around Medan. They are yet unresolved since there is no land certificate," he stated.

Hence, the government continues to accelerate the process of obtaining land certificates to reduce land disputes.

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Jokowi also affirmed that the target for the issuance of land certificates would continue to be increased every year.

"My target is to continue issuing land certificates to reach nine million. During the pandemic, it decreases to eight million, but it is still big as compared to 500 thousand only," he said.

Jokowi advised land owners to keep their land certificates properly and use them wisely. If the certificate is used for a loan from a bank, then the president encourages that the loan be optimized as business capital.

“If you get Rp600 million from a bank loan, then use it all for business, as working capital, and as investment in machinery. Never use it for luxury items," he remarked.

Other attendees at the event comprised Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno, Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency (BPN) Sofyan Djalil, Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Basuki Hadimuljono, Governor of North Sumatra Edy Rahmayadi, and Head of Dairi District Eddy Keleng Ate Berutu.

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Translator: Indra A P, Resinta Sulistiyand
Editor: Suharto
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