In Surontiko Samins view why was state ownership of forests wrong?

Correct answer: Because the state had not created earth and wood

The direct answer is A: the state had not created the earth and wood. In the lesson on Java, Surontiko Samin questioned the Dutch claim that the state could own and control forests as private property. His reasoning was simple: nature, including land and trees, was not created by the state, so the state could not automatically claim complete ownership over it or deny local people their customary relationship with the forest. Option A is correct because it gives Samin’s central moral argument about creation and ownership. Option B is wrong because the issue was not the geographical location of the state or the sea. Option C is wrong because railway building was a separate colonial activity and does not explain Samin’s belief. Option D is wrong because cotton cultivation was unrelated to his argument about forests. The reasoning chain is: the earth and trees are natural creations; the state did not create them; therefore its claim to absolute ownership was challenged. Memory cue: Samin—nature was not made by the state, so state ownership was questioned.