Ministry Of Home Affairs Invites Aceh Governor Mualem To Discuss Polemics On 4 Islands
JAKARTA - The Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendari) has invited Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf (Mualem) to sit together in a discussion meeting on the ownership of four islands on the border of Aceh Province and North Sumatra Province.
Deputy Minister of Home Affairs (Wamendagri) Bima Arya Sugiarto said the meeting would be held waiting for the results of the time coordination between the Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri) Tito Karnavian and Muzakir Manaf.
"The meeting has been planned, but it is still in the process of adjusting the time between the Minister and the Governor," Bima Arya said as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, June 17.
The Deputy Minister of Home Affairs said that he could not convey an estimate of when the meeting would be held.
"Just wait," he said.
To note, the polemic on the administrative boundaries between Aceh and North Sumatra Provinces, which has been rolling since 1928, has re-emerged after different claims of management of four islands in the border area of the two provinces emerged.
The Decree of the Minister of Home Affairs Number 300.2.2-2138 of 2025 has determined that four islands, namely Lipan Island, Panjang Island, Mangkir Ketek Island, and Mangkir Gadang Island are included in the administrative area of North Sumatra Province, to be precise Central Tapanuli Regency, which is directly adjacent to Aceh Singkil Regency.
This policy has sparked aspiration differences from the two local governments, each of which feels it has historical and administrative ties to the islands.
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Related to this, the Aceh Government has prepared a joint 1992 agreement document between the Aceh Government and North Sumatra to be brought to a meeting with the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding the ownership of the four islands which are still disputed.
The joint agreement between the two provinces in 1992 determined the ownership status of the four islands to be within the Aceh region.
The 1992 joint agreement was signed by the then Governor of Aceh Ibrahim Hasan with the then Governor of North Sumatra, King Inal Siregar, and witnessed directly by the then Minister of Home Affairs, Rudini.