Durian. Thousands of employees of an Indonesia’s private agriculture company Tri Bakti Sarimas or TBS have been recently worrying for their future after Riau Police summoning several of them and declaring one of the management staff as a suspect regarding their work at the company’s palm oil plantations and facilities that is situated in Kuantan Sengingi regency in Riau province.
Police auctions towards TBS’s employees were conducted after the Indonesia’s largest lender and state-run company Bank Rakyat Indonesia or BRI, listed at the Indonesia’s Stock Exchanges or IDX, sold the palm oil company’s assets through an e-auction, held by Pekanbaru’s State Assets and Auction Services or KPKNL, on December 28. BRI valued TBS’ asset worth 1.9 trillion rupiah or about 121.1 billion US dollar.
In TBS’s official statement on Wednesday, February 7, Andry Christian, a lawyer who defends TBS, said that at the time the e-auction was held, TBS had been communicating with BRI for mortgage restructuring measures and the company assets were under-valued as based on December 2022’s appraisal that it worth 2.5 trillion rupiah.
”Our client (TBS) is a debtor that has a good intention and had been trying to pay their mortgage and request an ease payment method according to their capacity to BRI,” Andry explained.
However, the auction has resulted a winner which is another agriculture firm named Karya Tama Bhakti Mulia or KTBM that is affiliated with Singapore-based First Resources. First Resources is listed at the Singapore Stock Exchanges or SGX.
In the company’s announcement on January 5, First Resources confirmed that one of its indirect subsidiary KTBM “has successfully bid for the acquisition of plantation assets held by PT Tri Bakti Sarimas” for a cash consideration of 1.9 trillion rupiah.
TBS’s assets that were acquired in the auction according to the announcement are 17,600 hectares, located in Riau province and the auction was aimed “for the execution of mortgage rights held by BRI”.
TBS cannot accept the auction and its result as the company had been negotiation to restructure its mortgage, according to Indonesia’s regulation that is ruled by the Financial Services Authority or OJK. Therefore, the company has filed two legal suits to two separate courts – State Administrative Court and the Central Jakarta District Court – asking for the abortion of the auction as well as the responsibility of BRI and related parties for the “unusual” auction.
“The auction is suspected had been conducted with unusual measures,” TBS legal attorney said.
When the legal actions have been taken by TBS, police in Riau have questioned some of the company’s employees for allegations that they had stolen or smuggled palm fruits taken from the area, owned by TBS for the last 30 years, based on KTBM’s report on January 5.
Employees’ Voices
A small group of journalists, including from the Big Durian, have met some of the employees last week and found out that they are now scare to go for work due to the police actions. Some of them experiences their work equipment were taken by police and summoned for inquiry at the Riau Police Office in Pekanbaru.
Most of them are working at TBS plantations for pruning and harvesting. They were asked to stop work for TBS as the area where they’re working is now owned by other company, which is KTBM. However, these employees declined to comment when asked to be interviewed.
Currently TBS has about 2,500 employees and many of them have been working for the company more than over 10 years. They only know that the area they have been usually working is owned by TBS.
However, journalists have chanced to interview some of employees that have been working with TBS at least 10 years and more to know why do work with the company for such a long period of time at Pucuk Rantau district, Kuantan Sengingi Regency. Here are comments from them:
Darsan, 53, who has been working with TBS for about 18 years:
“I have been working here for 18 years. I’ve been staying with TBS and was able to send my children to university and one of them is now working abroad. TBS helps us a lot. I hope TBS will continue developing and stay successful”.
Rapinus, 45, who has been working with TBS for about 17 years:
“I joined TBS in 2007; it’s proximately 17 years. I think management here is good and it makes us comfortable to work. As long as I work in TBS, I could build my place to stay, sending my children to universities. So, this place brings me fortune. I hope that TBS can be further better and I am sure it can”.
Yusnima Giawa, 48, who has been working with TBS for about 10 years:
“I have been with TBS for about 10 years. I never think to move to other plantation because here is comfortable. No one disrupt us. If TBS is not good perhaps our children cannot go to schools. Our hope is hopefully TBS will be further better, so we will feel more comfortable. Although there are a lot of companies, but only TBS can give us comfort”. (***)
