InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – In palm oil industries, Derom Bangun is a famous figure. He got important position in many national – scale palm oil organizations, he was the former chairman of Indonesian Palm Oil Association (1999 – 2006), Chairman of Indonesian Palm Oil Board (2012 – 2000). He worked in the two organizations for quite some time. The two organizations got respects from national and international scale. Palm oil hit its golden age that never happened before. Besides being active in the two organization, the grandfather of six grandchildren and one great grandchild did have position in regional and international scale organizations, such as, Chairman of AVOC (ASEAN Vegetable Oils Club), Vice President II RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) since 2004 and World Bank External Advisor in 2010.
Besides, he has large numbers of palm oil plantations though not as wide as the big companies do. The plantations are managed and cultivated by his companies, such as, PT Kipar Lapiga, PT Tara Bintang Nusa, and PT Bukit Sawit Mas.
Derom (84 years old) got successful careers. He started working from the low position such as, from II technic to be a phenomenal palm oil figure and this is incredible.
But it was full of struggle. One specific characteristic from Bangun as ‘Palm Oil Ambassador of Indonesia’, claimed by Achmad Manggabarani, General Director of Plantation Ministry of Agriculture in 2006 – 2010, is persistency that is always in Bangun’s life.
Inherit ‘persistency’ from his mother
Derom Bangun was born in Village of Payung, Regency of Kabanjahe, North Sumatera Province on 16 June 1940. He has been persistent since a very young boy. He also experienced the bitterness the first Netherland military action in 1947. He was seven and his big family (his father, mother, grandpa, grandma, uncle, aunt, his siblings, and some cousins) had to move from Village of Payung to Lau Diski, next to Kotacane, Regency of Aceh Tenggara by foot. Aceh Province was the only one that Netherland could not attack for the agreement between both parties.
They had to live there for some months. After it was safe, they had to walk to get back to Berastagi.
Bangun got his persistent character from his mother. To help the family economy, his mother should get additional income. She sold some things in Pasar Berastagi and tobaccor with two friends of her. The tobacco was purchased from the farmers from many villages and sold when ‘pasaran’ day to Pematangsiantar. The fact was that Bangun’s mother and her friends were trusted by the buyers. Everytime they sold tobaccor, they got more expensive price. Though Bangun was born in Village of Payung, he lived his childhood longer in Berastagi.
Helping parents when being was very young
Since he was young, Bangun always helped his parents to harvest paddy. His mother often told him and his brother to breed (animals) to get additional school expense. Because it was hard times, every time he went back from school, he and his brother should get grass from the field. And everytime he did mistake, his mother was angry at him.
Persistent to Get Junior Degree
Bangun graduated from Sekolah Rakyat (now elementary) in Berastagi in 1954. At the time, junior high school was only in Kabanjahe, the capital city of the regency where it was 11 kilometers to the southern of Berastagi. For there was not high school in his circumstance, Bangun got SMP Negeri Kabanjahe registerd. He had to wake up at five in the morning, prepare breakfast, and get buss at 06.15 to Kabanjahe. He did it always every day.
Persistent to Study Chemicals
After graduating from SMP Negeri in Kabanjahe in 1957, Bangun continued his education to SMA Negeri 1 in Medan. In this time, he studied English, German, and Franch. He did study Chemicals which was very difficult to understand, but he paid it off. He graduated from his senior high school in 1960.
Persistent to Study in ITB
After graduating from senior high school, Bangun joined the selection to study in Institutt Teknologi Bandung (ITB) in Medan to get engineering and electro. He never gave up. He got his goal to be an engineering. He met the director of ITB and begged him to get other subject available in the institution. Touched by his persistency, the director helped him to be studying chemical engineering.
(Source: Derom Bangun: Memoar “Duta Besar” Sawit Indonesia, 2010 dan Derom Bangun: Pemikiran, Karya dan Pencapaian, 2023).
