JAKARTA: Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto has ruled that four contested islands off the northwestern coast of Sumatra belong to Aceh, putting an end to the province’s long-running dispute with neighbouring North Sumatra.
The Indonesian government decided the islands of Lipan, Panjang, Mangkir Gadang and Mangkir Ketek were administratively part of Aceh province after a limited Cabinet meeting led by the president on Tuesday (Jun 17).
The islands had been at the centre of a bureaucratic tug-of-war between Aceh – a special autonomous province with broader self-governing powers than other provinces – and North Sumatra after a recent ministerial decree listed them as part of Central Tapanuli regency in North Sumatra.
The decree, issued on Apr 25, prompted protests and renewed scrutiny of the islands’ rightful status.
Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian clarified on Tuesday that Prabowo’s decision was grounded in official documents dating back over three decades.
Among them was a 1992 decree that unambiguously placed the four islands within the jurisdiction of Aceh’s Singkil regency.
“We found an original document from Nov 24, 1992 – yellowed with age but still intact – that clearly includes the islands as part of Aceh. It was compelling enough for us to prepare formal records confirming its authenticity,” said Tito.
Prabowo’s decision followed joint consultations with the governors of both affected provinces.
Aceh governor Muzakir Manaf and North Sumatra governor Bobby Nasution both participated in the virtual meeting and signed a formal agreement recognising Aceh’s administrative claim to the islands.
