INTRODUCTION Sugar palm (Arenga pinnata Merr) is a type of palm with high economic value. It can be found in various regions in Indonesia (Nirawati et al., 2020). Superior palm products can be used as a source of food and energy, including brown sugar, granular brown sugar, fresh sap, sugar palm fruit, and alcoholic drink. Besides that, sugar palm products are widely used for craft materials, as well as building materials (Manambangtua et al., 2018). Based on data from the Central Java Forestry Service (2010), the main production centers of sugar palm can be found in 14 provinces, which are Maluku, North Maluku, Papua, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, West Java, Central Java, Banten, North Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Bengkulu, South Kalimantan, and Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. The total area of sugar palm plant centers in 14 provinces in Indonesia is around 70,000 Ha (Wulantika, 2019). While the area of sugar palm plantations in South Sulawesi is around 6,060 ha, and the average sugar production is 4,121 tons/year. It can be found growing in several districts, including Maros district with an area of 251 ha and Sinjai district with an area of 35 ha (BPS, 2017). The natural distribution (provenance) at the location is assumed to have high diversity and categorized as a “tree of life” for farmers. The vast area of sugar palm in Indonesia has not been matched with the application of the right cultivation technology. Therefore results obtained are not optimal. Due to a lack of proper cultivation techniques, then crop productivity is still relatively low (Indasary, et al., 2019). If this continues, it is feared that the sugar palm genetic sources which have high sap potential will be gone. Furthermore, one of the essential things that should be done in sugar palm cultivation is the availability of technology, for example, using superior sugar palm seeds from selected parent trees with high sap production (Tenda and Mahayu, 2015). Due to its risky characteristic and population, sugar palm must be optimized by using a tree breeding program. A study by Asmono et al. (2005) reported that molecular information produced can be used as a basis for maintaining genetic material for conservation and instruction of tree breeding. A molecular marker is a tool to identify genetic potential between each species, species and population, and their relationship with the special nature of plants. Molecular analysis is an approach that can be done to determine genetic factors. One of the DNA-based molecular markers that have been widely applied as a marker of plant genetics is Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) (Sumiyati et al., 2009)