On 23 November 2012, Aburizal Bakrie (Ical) once made a tweet on Twitter that made his father proud. The tweets impressed his father as th...
On 23 November 2012, Aburizal Bakrie (Ical) once made a tweet on Twitter that made his father proud. The tweets impressed his father as the only lowly educated, successful man of his day.
"My father Achmad Bakrie only graduated from a people's school (now SD) can successfully build the Bakrie Group," tweeted Ical.
But HIS is not a lower school like a Volkschool (three-year folk school). Not all children can go to school at HIS. When Indonesia became independent, only 10 per cent of Indonesians were literate. Even if he refers to the book Achmad Bakrie: A Portrait of Hard Work, Honesty and Success (1992), Achmad Bakrie is not only a graduate of HIS but has also studied at Handels-Schoevers Institute.
Before opening his own business, thanks to his HIS certificate, of course, Achmad was already working at the Central Lampung Controller Office in Sukadana. Then a while later he worked at the Dutch private company NV Van Gorkom in Bandar Lampung. Of course, he does not work as a coolie. Two years at this company, he has gained much experience in modern organizations. After studying at Handelsinstituut Schoevers in Jakarta, he worked again at the Zuid Sumatera Apotheek pharmacy in Telukbetung.
Towards the arrival of the Japanese, the pharmacy went bankrupt. The remaining medicines were purchased by Achmad Bakrie. After the price went up, the drug was sold again. The money from the sale becomes business capital. On 10 February 1942, his business had begun to explore the sale and purchase of coffee, pepper, cassava flour and other crops. From there, the Bakrie & Brother General Merchant And Commission Agent in Telukbetung started.
Achmad Bakrie happens to live in changing times. At that time, many cars and biscuits were left behind by the Dutch who fled their assets for fear of the arrival of the Japanese around Telukbetung. Achmad and Abuyamin, his siblings, happened to know where these items had been left. After considering them, they took the biscuits and ignored the car.
After helping the Japanese Police whose car broke down, Achmad got a license for a transportation route even though he didn't have a car. By using Oei Kian Tek's car, this route was also useful. Abuyamin's coconut oil business from Kalianda to Telukbetung is again running smoothly. During the Japanese occupation era, the company changed its name to Jasumi Shokai so as not to impress Europe.
During the Japanese occupation, Bakrie decided to move to Jakarta. His business is expanding, and he has even started to trade abroad. At that time, after settling in Jakarta, Bakrie began to a family with Roosniah who gave him four children: Aburizal Bakrie (Ical), Roosmania Odi Bakrie (Odi), Usmansyah Bakrie, and Nirwan Dermawan Bakrie.
After 1950, the business was growing. In 1952, the company was named NV Bakrie & Brother. Two decades later, NV changed to PT. Its businesses also range from milling rice in Lampung and latex rubber to steel pipe and wire manufacturing. Bakrie is one of the entrepreneurs who started to stand out in business during the Old Order era, like Gobel.
Achmad Bakrie, according to Joe Studwell in Asian Godfathers: Revealing Infidelity Takbir and Rulers (2017), is one of the large indigenous manufacturing groups.
"Achmad benefited from the Fortress [economic] Program that was given to native businessmen after independence was declared in 1945, and took the nationalized steel business from the Netherlands," wrote Joe Studwell.
Achmad Bakrie's successor is his eldest son: Ical. If Achmad Bakrie only graduated from HIS and trade courses, then his eldest son graduated from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in 1973. Aburizal also participated in the business his father had founded. Starting as Assistant to the Board of Directors, then becoming one of the Directors at PT Bakrie & Brother. The longer his career continues to climb. In the 1990s, he became President Commissioner of the Bakrie group. Achmad Bakrie died on 15 December 1997, today 23 years ago.
According to the company website www.bakrie-brothers.com, in the period 1986-1989, PT Bakrie Sumatera Plantations (BSP) was acquired. In the 1990s, BSP entered the stock exchange. In the same decade, Bakrie's business began to expand into telecommunications. They once founded and owned Bakrie Telecom (1993-2012). PT Bakrieland Development (BLD) which is engaged in the property sector, is also established. In the mining sector, apart from setting PT Energi Mega Persada (EMP), PT Bumi Resources was also acquired by PT Bakrie Capital. (tirto)
