Jakarta (ANTARA) - Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni has said that his ministry is currently in the process of forming the palm oil task force to strengthen the supervision and protection of forest areas.

"We will truly use the Earth, water, and everything in it for the welfare and prosperity of the Indonesian people, as President Prabowo Subianto has always said," he told the press at the office of the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) here on Friday.

He affirmed that he has communicated with the State Secretary Minister to propose the formation of the task force.

"Through the task force, we can make an agreement, data reconciliation, (determine) which data is the most valid, the maximum fine for state revenue, and everything can be discussed in the task force," he explained.

Antoni informed that he and BPKP head Muhammad Yusuf Ateh discussed the plan to form the task force during a meeting on Friday.

"Maybe next week, I will come back here (the BPKP office) to see the latest data and from there, I think we will work to regulate it," he added.

On Friday morning, the minister also held a meeting with the Attorney General's Office on legal action against the perpetrators of forest destruction in Indonesia.

"God willing, there will be good cooperation for the legal action. For the sake of upholding the law, the state must not be inferior to unlawful actors who have been destroying our forests all this time," he said.

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Translator: Sinta Ambarwati, Raka Adji
Editor: Arie Novarina
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