Case Background

Legal Literacy- The dispute between the Province of Aceh and the Province of North Sumatra regarding the ownership of Panjang Island, Lipan Island, Mangkir Gadang Island, and Mangkir Ketek Island has created new dynamics in domestic political relations, both between the central government and the Aceh region and between the people of North Sumatra and Aceh. According to the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Bima Arya Sugiarto, the four islands have been the subject of dispute between the two provinces since 1978. To resolve interregional border disputes, the President, through Article 16 of Presidential Regulation Number 149 of 2024 concerning the Ministry of Home Affairs (hereinafter referred to as Perpres 149/2024), gives the authority to resolve interregional border disputes to the Ministry of Home Affairs through its internal organ, the Directorate General of Regional Administration Development. This authority is then further regulated in Minister of Home Affairs Regulation Number 58 of 2021 concerning Codes, Data on Government Administration Regions, and Islands (hereinafter referred to as Permendagri 58/2021), which in Article 13 of Permendagri 58/2021 states that regions that have been given regional administration codes can be updated and updated once a year. The provisions of Article 13 of Permendagri 58/2021 are the basis for the Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Tito Karnavian, to issue Minister of Home Affairs Decree Number 300.2.2-2138 of 2025 as a form of updating the boundaries of domestic regions. The Decree of the Minister of Home Affairs contains provisions stating that the four islands that are still in dispute belong to the Province of North Sumatra, a decision that ultimately caused a polemic between North Sumatra and Aceh to emerge to the public.