Jakarta – The regent of Siak, Afni Zulkifli, expressed several human rights issues facing the people of Siak Regency before the Minister of Human Rights (HAM) of the Republic of Indonesia, Natalius Pigai. Afni conveyed this to defend the basic rights of the Siak people, during a public lecture ‘Strengthening human rights capacity for the community and students in Siak Regency’, at the Datuk Empat Tribal Hall, Rumah Rakyat Complex, Siak, Riau, Saturday (13/12). Afni revealed that before he gave his speech, many people reminded him not to speak too loudly. However, he chose to stay loud and stick to the message that Pigai conveyed during his speech in Senayan, Jakarta. Scroll TO CONTINUE CONTENT “I have taken note of the Minister’s message, let’s fill the empty space that the state did not have time to fill, transfer it boldly and not a single Indonesian child should suffer,” says Afni in his statement, Sunday (14/12/2025). He also cited President Prabowo Subianto’s message emphasizing that leaders should not be afraid to defend justice and truth, and build with a sense of humanity and consultation, including in the development of human rights in the regions. Afni said he was proud that Pigai was present in Siak, he truly understands human rights issues in depth, especially the agricultural conflict which is currently a serious problem in Siak and has the potential to become a time bomb. He said that after only one week of service as regent, there were already Siak residents who were in contact with the law due to a land conflict. In her presentation, Afni explained the geographical conditions and spatial layout of Siak Regency, most of which are dominated by Industrial Plantation Forest (HTI) and Cultivation Rights (HGU) areas. He even asked that industrial areas no longer be called ‘forests’ because they are monocultures, the majority of which are planted with acacia. However, Siak Regency still protects two conservation areas that are the habitat of the Sumatran Tiger and Sumatran Elephant. However, direct interventions and conflicts are still considered very strong. Furthermore, Afni revealed that HGU targets 45 villages and 6 sub-districts, while HTI and forest areas affect 63 villages and two sub-districts. Of the total 131 villages in Siak, almost half of the people are directly affected, with a population of around half a million people who still do not fully receive basic rights, such as road access, education and health. “It’s not because the regional government doesn’t want to build, but we have to make efforts across ministries to get permission to release the area, at least for access to education and health, because these are the most basic human rights,” emphasizes Afni. He also highlighted the conditions in the Minas district, where access to clean water is almost non-existent, even though this area is a former Chevron operational area now managed by PHR. And also the issue of burial ground has become a crisis, due to limited land and lack of access due to company areas. In Sungai Apit district, Afni touched on security issues due to tigers often entering residential areas due to the destruction of forest habitat. Meanwhile, the community’s right to clean air in Tualang District continues to be a major challenge due to the strong smell of industrial activities. The compensation given was considered disproportionate, only in the form of one carton of milk. “The pungent smell even reached the pit of my stomach, but the compensation given to residents was only one carton of milk,” he said. Agrarian conflicts are also said to occur almost every day in a number of other sub-districts. However, Afni emphasized that Siak Regency has consistently met national indicators for the protection of human rights for 10 consecutive years since 2014, and has been designated as a Child-Friendly Regency. However, he admitted that there are still many Siak children who could not enjoy development due to limited space due to HTI and HGU. In fact, the farmers of Bungaraya, known as the rice grain of Riau, are now shouting because of the lack of irrigation water, which is said to be siphoned off for industrial purposes. Afni emphasized that his courage to speak out was part of his moral responsibility as a leader. “If I don’t pass it on, it will actually be my sin as a leader. The basic rights of our people, namely land, education, water, health and clean air, must be fought for,” he stressed. Afni also showed Pigai a short video on education infrastructure, health, severely damaged roads not suitable for HTI and HGU areas as examples of the basic rights of the Siak people that were not met. He reminded that from the country of Siak, the Sultan of Siak once handed over 12 million guilders for the independence of the Republic of Indonesia. The Kingdom of Siak, Afni said, is a kingdom loyal to the Republic of Indonesia. However, the current state of the Siak Palace is very worrying. Concluding his presentation, Afni entrusted a letter to Pigai to be delivered to Prabowo, hoping that the president could visit Siak Regency. “We want the president to be present at the palace because this is where our Sultan gave up everything for the Republic of Indonesia,” Afni concluded. Meanwhile, Pigai in his speech expressed his full support for the efforts of the Siak Regency government to fight for the fulfillment of people’s human rights. He emphasized that the central government will immediately take concrete steps by issuing a Presidential Regulation (Perpres) on Human Rights and Business which is currently being prepared and will be signed by the President. Through this Presidential Decree, Pigai said, all forms of human rights violations related to business activities can be dealt with in a more firm and structured manner. “The central government will also conduct audits of companies that have been proven to violate human rights principles,” he explained. In response to Afni’s presentation and ‘confidence’ on various human rights issues in Siak, Pigai gave support with an encouraging, sarcastic tone. He believes that Regent Afni should speak even louder about injustice. “It is still weak. You have to be louder to express the interests of the people. But the regent is still not bad, willing to side with the people. Many regional heads usually only have good things in their speech. The regent should speak louder,” said Pigai. According to him, the courage of regional chiefs to convey real problems in the field is an important part of efforts to fight for justice and ensure that the state is present for the people, especially in dealing with human rights issues that directly intersect with business and industrial interests. “So officials do not need to be stubborn, look at Regent Afni as a people, prioritize the interests of the people,” he concluded while joking (akn/ega)