A congress of the Aceh chapter of the Association of Indonesian Palm Oil Producers (GAPKI) has reelected Sabri Basyah as chairman of the Aceh chapter of GAPKI for a second term for the 2017-2020 period, GAPKI said in a report carried on its website on Friday (24/11/2017).
The election, through an electoral college, was conducted on Tuesday (21/11/2017) and the congress was also attended by GAPKI Deputy Chairman Kacuk Sumartono, Expert Staff to the Aceh Governor, T. Syakur and palm oil entrepreneurs of Aceh.
“GAPKI Aceh will in the future, continue to engage in good relations with the people so that there are no conflict, including related to land. The palm oil industry plays an important role in poverty alleviation’s, especially in border areas,” GAPKI Aceh head of the Organisational and Legal department, Riduan Manik said during the occasion.
This the second consecutive term as GAPKI Aceh chairman for Basyah who already served in the same position for the 2014-2017 period.
Born in Aceh on May 29, 1958, Basyah heads the Mopoli Raya Group that deals with palm oil that was established by his father Ibrahim Basyah along with two other colleagues in 1979. The group now has 11 subsidiaries. Bash also is the current Managing Director at PT. Nusantara Bio Energy.
Manik said that his organisation will continue to approach palm oil entrepreneurs operating in Aceh and draw them to become members of GAPKI Aceh.
The GAPKI website shows that GAPKI Aceh currently has 36 members. The organization has a total of 644 plantations as members nationwide.
Manik also called on palm oil businesses not to engage in land clearing by fire and also to not violate the laws and regulations.
Meanwhile, Acehterkini quoted Sumartono as saying at the same occasion that the palm oil industry was now the country’s largest foreign exchange earners. In 2016, palm oil exports contributed $18.2 billion, compared to the $13.1 billion contributed by the oil and gas sector.
The palm oil industry in Aceh, local industry data showed, provides a livelihood for more than 750,000 people directly related to palm oil plantations, or a little bit more than 15 percent of the population of Aceh.