National Economic Council Chairman Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan denies allegations of owning shares in PT Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL) and reveals his opposition to the company since 20 years ago due to environmental impacts. He challenges accusers to prove their claims and recommends revoking TPL's business permit to President Prabowo Subianto. Luhut plans to return the concession land for the benefit of people in the Tapanuli region.
Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Chairman of the National Economic Council, firmly responded to allegations that he owns shares in PT Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL) via a video on his official Instagram account on January 14, 2026. He challenged the accusers to provide evidence of his shareholding. "If someone accuses me of having shares, which shares? Show them. I have never owned shares except in my own company, PT Toba Sejahtera, which I established myself. There is Kutai Energi, the only one with an IUP that I obtained in 2003 or 2004. The coal IUP in Kutai Kartanegara is still mine to this day. I don't have a nickel IUP, I don't have shares in Morowali as claimed by unclear parties. They say I have shares there, I don't. Show it, bring it here," he said.
Luhut expressed annoyance because the accusations touch on his dignity. He affirmed he was never interested in owning shares in the nickel sector while serving as Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment. His opposition to TPL dates back about 20 years, when he personally witnessed environmental damage as Minister of Industry and Trade. "I rejected TPL actually since I saw it myself when I was Menperindag. I witnessed firsthand the community's complaints about Lake Toba becoming increasingly murky and smelly. Not to mention the increasingly damaged forest areas," he revealed.
Furthermore, Luhut recounted his experience in 2001 when he observed protests against Indorayon, TPL's former name, which harmed the Lake Toba environment. He then recommended to President Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) to temporarily close the factory. "'This is damaging the environment, sir, the water goes to Lake Toba and it's smelly too, wood scraps and so on.' So imagine, even in 2001 the people already understood about the environment. During Gus Dur's time, I proposed right after returning from there to suspend it, just close it. At that time it was noisy that the economy wasn't good either, so if I'm not mistaken, it was temporarily closed," he recounted.
Luhut's stance remains consistent. He recommended to President Prabowo Subianto revoking TPL's business permit, as it is controlled by one party over nearly 200,000 hectares of land, benefiting only a few while damaging the environment. "So in my opinion, there's no point in Toba Pulp being there anymore... Not just opposing, I suggest to the president to revoke it," he asserted. Additionally, he conveyed plans to return the concession land for public benefit through technology-based agriculture and ecosystem restoration in Tapanuli. "I have conveyed to President Prabowo that the land must be returned for the people's interests. We will change exploitation into recovery that fosters hope. Technology-based agriculture and ecosystem restoration will be efforts to restore the future of the Tapanuli community in a more dignified way," he stated.
