Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Prabowo Subianto will decide the fate of the four coastal islands disputed by Aceh and North Sumatra provinces, according to House of Representatives (DPR) Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad.
The government, through a Home Ministry regulation dated April 25, 2025, awarded the four islands of Mangkir Gadang, Mangkir Ketek, Lipan, and Panjang to North Sumatra after a decades-long dispute with Aceh, which promptly contested the decision.
"Following communications between the DPR and the president, the president has decided to take over the border issue of the islands disputed by Aceh and North Sumatra provinces," Dasco stated in his written remarks on Saturday.
The president also confirmed that he will give the decision over the islands next week, the deputy speaker added.
Earlier, the Home Ministry clarified that the four islands' administrative status was decided by the National Committee for the Standardisation of Geographical Names after the two provinces failed to resolve the dispute for over 20 years.
The four islands were included in the administrative jurisdiction of Central Tapanuli District in North Sumatra, which borders Aceh Singkil District in Aceh province.
"Following the dispute, an agreement was achieved to surrender the decision to the Committee, and a clause in the agreement required the parties to approve the decision," Safrizal Zakaria Ali, the ministry's Director General for Regional Administration, stated on Wednesday (June 11).
Ali stated that the decision regarding the four islands had considered the island lists submitted by Aceh and North Sumatra authorities in 2008 and verified by the national committee in 2009.
Recognising Aceh province's opposition to the decision, Ali encouraged Aceh authorities to engage in dialogue with its North Sumatra counterpart over the dispute.
Meanwhile, former vice president Jusuf Kalla, who played a role in ending the Aceh conflict in 2005, believed that the islands belong to Aceh on a "formal and historical" basis.
