MEMPAWAH, thekabarnews.com—The Mempawah chapter of the Islamic Students Association (HMI Mempawah) has urged authorities to investigate an allegation. HMI alleges that a Hanura Party council member burned land while Mempawah, West Kalimantan, was battling forest and land fires (karhutla).

HMI Mempawah chair Abdul Rohman made the call in a statement on Sunday, September 20. He said a video circulating on social media had raised questions about activity on land. The land allegedly belongs to the council member.

According to Rohman, the recording includes a remark about burning the remaining area before planting about 200 oil-palm seedlings.

Mempawah councilor Choirussaib, a Hanura politician known as Bang Choy, has come under scrutiny over footage reportedly posted to a TikTok account identified as @Bang Choy on Friday, September 18. The footage reportedly shows someone burning land. However, it has not established who started the fire.

Rohman said the allegation warranted scrutiny because residents and emergency teams were already facing the effects of haze.

“While residents are breathing unhealthy air from thick smoke and joint teams are struggling day and night to fight fires, a council member is allegedly burning land deliberately. This is heartbreaking and deeply disappointing,” he said.

The concern comes amid a documented local emergency. The Mempawah administration said it declared an emergency response to smoke from forest and land fires under an August 26 decree. Furthermore, the district said the fires had affected air quality, health and daily activities.

Rohman asked police and environmental law enforcement officers to examine the recording and establish what happened at the site.

“We urge the police and environmental law enforcement authorities to thoroughly investigate this alleged violation,” he said.

He also called for the same standard of investigation regardless of the person’s public office.

Article 69(1)(h) of Indonesia’s 2009 Environmental Protection and Management Law prohibits clearing land by burning. In addition, Article 108 provides criminal penalties for violations.

The law also requires consideration of local wisdom. Therefore, investigators would need to establish the facts and assess the applicable provisions before drawing any legal conclusion.

No finding against the council member appears in the material reviewed for this article. Investigators have not substantiated the allegation, and the report does not include the council member’s account.

Authorities would examine the video, the land and any other evidence before deciding whether to take further action.