President of the Indonesia Republic, Prabowo Subianto awared Mahaputera Pratama Honorary Medal to 141 national figures on Monday, August 25 2025 at the National Palace, Jakarta. Among those awarded was a person named Haji Abdul Rasyid Akhmad Saleh, nicknamed Abdul Rasyid, a national businessman from Central Kalimantan whom the government awarded for improving economy growth.
Abdul Rasyid (left) received Mahaputera Utama Honorary Medal from President Prabowo Subianto (right) in National Palace, Jakarta, Monday (August 25, 2025). Picture by the President Secretariat
However, this bestowal of honorary medal to Abdul Rasyid brings about a big question. After all, behind his success in building his business empire, Abdul Rasyid leaves behind a dark history within Indonesia’s forestry sector. His name was linked to a case of illegal logging in Tanjung Puting National Park, an area known as one of the last habitats for the Kalimantan orang utan.
Abdul Rasyid came from Pangkalan Bun, West Kotawaringin regency, Central Kalimantan. In 1982, he founded PT Tanjung Lingga timber company which later on changed into PT Citra Borneo Indah (CBI Group). This company grew so quickly across multiple sectors such as forestry, cruising, rural banks, palm oil, cattle farm, and hospitality.
His palm oil business began in 2003 with 198 hectares of land as a starting ground. As time went on, their expansion continued to grow until one of their subsidiaries, PT Sawit Sumbermas Sarana (SSMS), was listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange. In 2017, the CBI Group was listed to control 135 thousands hectares of landbank, all of which were in Central Kalimantan. Such business strength raised Abdul Rasyid’s name to the national level. In 2018, he was even listed in Forbes magazine among the 50 richest people in Indonesia.
The Scars of Tanjung Puting
This history was uncovered since 1999 through Kaoem Telapak’s joint investigation with the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). A report by the name The Final Cut listed Abdul Rasyid, owner of Tanjung Lingga Group as the primary recipient of stolen ramin timbers, as well as being involved in the mixture of legal and illegal timbers for exporting. Furthermore, in January 2000, the investigation team of Kaoem Telapak and EIA faced assaults and intimidations by those companies during the observation of the sawmill operations around the national park.
A collection of confiscated logs outside the National Park office in Kumai, Central Kalimantan, as recorded in The Final Cut report. Picture by Kaoem Telapak
Other reports such as Timber Trafficking (2001) linked Abdul Rasyid with timber smuggling to Malaysia, to which he later laundered to enter the international market. Then, the Above the Law (2003) report also named Abdul Rasyid, then-member of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) as a suspect in the destruction of Tanjung Puting, with allegations ranging from transporting illegal timbers, bribery, to kidnapping. Continued with a report compilation called Raksasa Dasamuka (2007), this report placed this particular case as a test case to measure the nation’s willingness to uncover the timber mafia. Unfortunately, the court process went throughs highs-and-lows and eventually failed to frame Abdul Rasyid as the primary suspect.
In addition to the timber sector, other dark history also surfaced from the palm oil business. In 2018, PT SSMS admitted to not obeying the plasma obligations to the community, with an excuse that the company would suffer great monetary losses. Another recorded part is that this company once attempted to file for remission for their illegal palm oil field within the forest area with other companies, about more than 23% of the proposed amount. This shows how the business under the CBI Group kept clashing with the sustainability policies and the Indigenous Peoples’ needs.
Is the Mahaputera Honorary Medal Appropriate for Abdul Rasyid?
Honorary Medal is a national awared bestowed upon by the President to an individual, an entity, a government institution, or an organization for their extraordinary loyalty and devotional service for the nation.
Verse 28 of the Constitutional Law (UU) Number 20 Year 2009 explains that there are specific requirements to receive the Mahaputera Honorary Medal, such as: 1) providing grand contributions within a number of sectors which proves to benefit the progress, welfare, and prosperity of the nation; b) devotion and sacrifices within social, politic, economy, law, culture, education, technology and other sectors whose contributions would greatly benefit the nation; and/or c) receiving national and international level of recognition for their services.
The award event for honorary medal from President Prabowo Subianto (right) to 141 national figures in National Palace, Jakarta, Monday (August 25, 2025). Picture by the President Secretariat
From the public’s perspective, particularly activists and civil society organizations, this award instead gives out the impression that the nation ignored the dark truths that have been documented for over two decades. To this day, Abdul Rasyid has yet to be charged as the main culprit for the destruction in Tanjung Puting.
The nation does have the right to bestow honorary medal to national figures who have contributed greatly to the country. However, was President Prabowo correct in bestowing the Mahaputera honorary medal to Abdul Rasyid, all while his recorded history has been full of controversies? If his proven history of forestry destruction, intimidation against the activists, and destructive business practices that affect the local community are all ignored so easily, then this national award loses its meaning and prestige. An honorary medal should be given to those who protect the forest, nurture life, and cultivate sustainability for the next generations, instead of giving it to someone who caused deep and lasting scars to the nature and society.
