Musim Mas Group – PT Sarana Esa Cita/ PT Mulia Indah
Musim Mas Group is a privately owned company with business activities in every part of the Palm Oil supply chain. Musim Mas is a member of the RSPO since 2004. The relevant case tracker on the RSPO website can be found here.
1) Face to face meeting between PT Mulia Indah and Complainant (31 July 2017).
2) Direct email from the complainant to Musim Mas (31 August 2017).
3) The RSPO notified us on a complaint lodged via email (06 October 2017).
The complainant claimed that he is the legitimate land owner of the plot of land for PT Sarana Esa Cita (PT SEC) that borders PT Mulia Indah (PT MI) – both are subsidiaries of Musim Mas Group; and that compensation was not received for the development of that land plot.
The case was further complicated by the existence of two other land claimants, making a total of three.
Claimant A (2015)
The first claimant of the said plot of land in November 2015. He had been given authority by Claimant B to sell the land to PT Mulia Indah, of which due compensation had been made by the latter upon confirmation by the Head of Village (Kelapa Desa).
Claimant B (2017)
Made claims as the legitimate owner of the land.
Claimant C (2017) – the above mentioned complainant who filed a case with the RSPO
Claims rightful ownership of the land, as he purchased it from Claimant B. However, no official land ownership documentation, and the payment made to Claimant B was only recognised as a down payment by the latter.
September 2017
We wrote to the complainant (Claimant C) on 11 September 2017, explaining that the land had been compensated in November 2015 to (Claimant A).
The complainant was invited for a meeting to discuss the matter on 18 September 2017. The session was mediated by the village head (Kepala Desa) and the local government officials.
September 2017
We explained to the complainant that the land had been compensated on 11 November 2015. However, no consensus was reached amongst the three claimants.
January 2018
We met with the complainant and the owner of the land and an agreement was reached, whereby the owner of the land shall receive compensation.
Subsequently, all parties agreed that the land was acquired by the company in compliance of the law and the matter is now settled. We were able to close the case in a consultative and participatory manner, by involving all parties that had a claim, and consulted on a consensual settlement that was accepted by all parties.
We have written officially to the RSPO on the closure of the complaint and are awaiting confirmation of the case closure status.
September 2018
The RSPO Complaints Panel dismissed the Complaint against PT SEC as the issue has been settled through bilateral engagement. RSPO will close the complaint if no further appeal against the decision is received within 60 working days (from 26 September 2018).
