Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto used his first State of the Nation address on Friday, delivered ahead of the country’s 80th Independence Day celebrations, to pledge a sweeping crackdown on the illegal exploitation of natural resources. Citing a government survey, Prabowo said 3.7 million hectares of palm-oil plantations—an area almost as large as Switzerland—are operating unlawfully. Of that, 3.1 million hectares have already been seized with military assistance, and a total of 5 million hectares remain under review. The former special-forces commander warned that companies “manipulating and violating” Indonesian law risk asset confiscation. He also vowed to “rectify” 1,063 illegal mining sites that he estimates have drained about Rp300 trillion (US$19 billion) from state coffers. Prabowo instructed the armed forces and police to deploy units from outside local jurisdictions to avoid conflicts of interest and said no rank—active or retired—would be spared investigation. Industry groups questioned the scale of the figures, with the Indonesian Palm Oil Association saying it had not been consulted, but Prabowo framed the measures as necessary to ensure citizens are not “victims of greedy economics.” Later on Friday he is scheduled to present his first draft budget for 2026, outlining funding for the enforcement drive and other priorities.