The Sei Mangkei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Simalungun Regency is increasingly demonstrating its potential as the epicenter of the downstream palm oil industry in North Sumatra. Support for the development of this area also comes from the Prabowo-Gibran National Volunteer Organization MARTABAT, which is urging the community to increase palm oil yields to strengthen the national industrial supply chain. The General Chair of MARTABAT Prabowo-Gibran, KRT Tohom Purba, believes that the Sei Mangkei SEZ is not only a symbol of development but also a foundation for the future of the economy based on the region's leading commodities.
According to him, the downstream palm oil industry in the area will have a strategic impact on national economic growth and the empowerment of local communities. "This area has the potential to become the heart of Indonesia's downstream palm oil industry. However, its success depends heavily on support from upstream stakeholders, namely palm oil farmers. Therefore, I urge the community, especially farmers in Simalungun and the surrounding areas, to increase the productivity and quality of their harvests," said Tohom when contacted on Monday (July 21, 2025). Tohom emphasized the importance of synergy between the industrial sector and the surrounding community so that the Sei Mangkei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) becomes not only an investment hub but also a center for the distribution of prosperity. He believes that if it is monopolized by large corporations without involving local farmers, the benefits of the area will not be widely felt. "If this SEZ is only used as a business field for large corporations without the involvement of local farmers, then it is not development, but merely a relocation of profits. We want the Sei Mangkei SEZ to become a model for a just and inclusive economic agglomeration," he added. Tohom, who is also the Chair of Agglomeration Watch, emphasized that industrial area development should be inseparable from the principle of people-centered spatial management.
