One day in early 2007, a car rolled up outside the home of Marianto Sumarto, the sawmill owner who had helped Darwan get elected. He lived in Kuala Pembuang, a small coastal town that serves as Seruyan’s capital.
The handful of plantation companies present in Seruyan before Darwan arrived on the scene had stoked simmering resentment. Villagers claimed the first they knew their land fell inside a license issued to PT Agro Indomas, near Lake Sembuluh, was when their farms were torched or bulldozed.
Prologue: Jakarta, 2007On 29 November, 2007, on the tenth floor of a marble-clad office block in Jakarta, the scion of one of Indonesia’s wealthiest families met with a visitor from the island of Borneo.Arif Rachmat, in his early 30s, was heir to a business empire and an immense fortune that would place him among the richest people in the world. His father had risen as a captain of industry under the 32-year dictatorship of President Suharto.
Some of the world’s biggest palm oil players will meet in Indonesia this week and just like two years ago, the weather will be a hot topic. But instead of the scorch of El Nino, this year the focus is on La Nina. The conference will feature predictions from industry heavyweights Dorab Mistry of Godrej International, LMC International’s Chairman James Fry and Oil World Executive Director Thomas Mielke.
