Jakarta, CNN Indonesia — The ongoing legislative process surrounding the Agrarian Reform Bill (RUU Pengaturan Reforma Agraria) has entered a critical phase, drawing intense scrutiny and strategic recommendations from civil society organizations. Six prominent coalitions operating under the banner of the Indonesian Urban Poor Network (Jejaring Rakyat Miskin Indonesia) formally presented a series of comprehensive policy proposals during a hearing with the Legislation Body (Baleg) of the House of Representatives (DPR) in Jakarta. The core argument advanced by the coalition challenges the foundational approach of the national land distribution strategy, specifically targeting the government’s flagship program of issuing individual land ownership certificates to marginalized communities.
During the parliamentary session, Guntoro Gugun Muhammad, speaking on behalf of the coalition, delivered a pointed critique of contemporary agrarian policies. He urged the state to fundamentally alter its trajectory by immediately halting the practice of distributing individual land titles. Gugun expressed deep skepticism regarding the capacity of individual titling to dismantle systemic land inequality or sustainably elevate the welfare of low-income populations. The coalition’s intervention arrives at a pivotal juncture as the legislature maneuvers to shape a legal framework intended to resolve decades of structural land disputes, unequal distribution, and socio-economic disparities across the archipelago.
Questioning the Efficacy of Individual Land Titling
The debate centers on whether private land ownership serves as an effective mechanism for poverty alleviation among the urban and rural poor. For years, successive Indonesian administrations have accelerated the issuance of land certificates—most notably through the Complete Systematic Land Registration (PTSD) program—aiming to secure legal tenure for millions of citizens. Proponents of individual certificates argue that formal legal titles provide ontological security, protect communities from arbitrary evictions, and unlock economic potential by enabling citizens to access formal credit markets using their land as collateral.
However, the coalition contends that this framework overlooks the harsh economic realities faced by vulnerable populations. According to Gugun, even though statutory regulations currently prohibit landowners from transferring or selling state-granted land within a mandatory ten-year holding period, this legal safeguard is routinely circumvented in practice. A pervasive informal market exists wherein land is traded through unofficial, under-the-table transactions, often driven by immediate financial distress, medical emergencies, or basic subsistence needs.
"If agrarian reform aims to genuinely address and reduce inequality, but the state’s political economy of policy continues to distribute land to individuals, I am deeply pessimistic, Ladies and Gentlemen," Gugun stated before the legislators. He emphasized that without structural safeguards, individual titles ultimately function as a temporary cushion before the land inevitably flows back into the open market, concentrating ownership once more in the hands of capital-rich entities.
The Case for Collective Land Ownership and Management
As an alternative to individual titling, the Jejaring Rakyat Miskin Indonesia proposed the institutionalization of collective or shared land certificates (sertifikat bersama) as a mandatory policy instrument, particularly within urban development contexts. The coalition argued that leaving the choice between individual or collective ownership up to individual beneficiaries is counterproductive, as immediate economic pressures will almost invariably drive citizens to opt for individual titles in anticipation of short-term liquidity.
"If citizens are asked whether they prefer individual ownership or collective ownership, they will certainly choose the individual option. Therefore, that cannot be left purely as a matter of preference," Gugun explained.
The coalition highlighted specific structural vulnerabilities associated with urban land reform. In major metropolitan areas, rapid spatial restructuring, commercial development, and hyper-inflated land values severely disadvantage low-income communities, causing them to forfeit their land assets at an accelerated rate. Furthermore, the sheer fragmentation of land parcels distributed to individuals severely limits their utility for long-term economic empowerment.
To illustrate this point, the coalition presented a comparative analysis of land scalability. In densely populated urban environments, individual land grants are often restricted to micro-parcels averaging roughly 36 square meters per household. Standing alone, a 36-square-meter plot offers negligible capacity for sustainable economic productivity or housing security. Conversely, when these individual allotments are consolidated into a collective land pool spanning a hectare or more, the economic matrix changes entirely. Collective management enables communities to establish cooperative enterprises, develop shared infrastructure, negotiate collectively with municipal authorities, and build resilient local economies that protect members from predatory market forces.
Legislative Context and the Timeline of the Agrarian Reform Bill
The deliberations within the Legislation Body take place against the backdrop of significant recent parliamentary actions. Earlier in the week, the Agrarian Reform Bill was officially endorsed during a plenary session of the DPR, formally establishing it as an official legislative initiative originating from the House. This milestone moves the bill from conceptual drafting into the intensive committee phase, where lawmakers, government ministries, and civil society stakeholders will negotiate the precise statutory parameters of the upcoming law.
A central institutional mechanism slated for debate within the framework of the RUU Pengaturan Reforma Agraria is the proposed establishment of the National Agrarian Reform Board (Badan Reforma Agraria Nasional – BRAN). This specialized body is envisioned to oversee, coordinate, and execute land redistribution efforts, mediate chronic agrarian conflicts, and ensure that land targeted for reform is effectively channeled toward productive use by landless farmers and urban poor communities.
The inclusion of grassroots coalitions like the Jejaring Rakyat Miskin Indonesia in the early drafting stages reflects a growing recognition within the legislature that sustainable agrarian reform cannot be successfully engineered exclusively through bureaucratic top-down planning. It requires direct integration of the lived experiences and socioeconomic strategies of communities directly impacted by land insecurity.
Broader Implications and Socio-Economic Analysis
The policy debate initiated by the coalition touches upon fundamental tensions within Indonesia’s broader development paradigm. On one side sits the market-driven, capital-centric approach to land administration, which views property primarily as a tradable commodity and a financial asset. On the other side stands the social-democratic and communitarian framework, which conceptualizes land as a social resource, a fundamental human right, and an indispensable foundation for collective welfare.
Economic analysts note that while individual titling has successfully generated quantifiable outputs in terms of certified hectares and formal bank loans, it has simultaneously contributed to land commodification and displacement in peri-urban and rural peripheries. When impoverished landowners mortgage or sell their newly certified plots, the land frequently consolidates into the portfolios of corporate developers or absentee landlords, leaving the original beneficiaries landless once again.
By advocating for collective property rights and cooperative management models, the urban poor network challenges lawmakers to rethink property law in the twenty-first century. If adopted, provisions allowing for collective titling could pioneer a new legal architecture for urban and rural land tenure in Indonesia—one that prioritizes community resilience, prevents land loss through speculative pressures, and fosters cooperative economic ventures among marginalized populations.
As the Baleg DPR continues its deliberations on the Agrarian Reform Bill, the proposals submitted by the Jejaring Rakyat Miskin Indonesia serve as a critical touchstone for legislators balancing the demands of economic growth with the constitutional mandate to achieve social justice and equitable prosperity for all Indonesian citizens.
