Attending ITS Graduation, Transmigration Minister Remembers Young Patriot Abdul Rohid
Transmigration Minister of the Republic of Indonesia, M. Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara, attended the 133rd graduation of Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) in Surabaya, East Java. Iftitah remembered the figure of Abdul Rohid, an ITS alumnus who passed away while serving in the Patriot Expedition Team (TEP) in the Bahari Tomini Raya maritime area, Central Sulawesi.
Abdul Rohid was actually scheduled to graduate in September 2025. However, he chose to postpone the graduation ceremony to join the Patriot Expedition in Sulawesi.
“On this occasion, I want to convey one very important thing. The late Abdul Rohid actually had the choice to take an easier path. He was supposed to graduate last September, but he chose to postpone it all,” said Iftitah at Graha ITS, Surabaya, on Saturday (18/4/2026).
At that time, Rohid chose to join the expedition team. Rohid chose to serve the community. According to Iftitah, that decision was the choice of a patriot.
“Two days ago, we just returned from Palu, Central Sulawesi. Together with the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Trade, National Quarantine Agency, Customs, and the Central Sulawesi Provincial Government, we launched durian exports to China. One of them from the Bahari Pombewe Raya transmigration area,” he explained.
That transmigration area, according to him, contributes 80% of durian production in Parigi Moutong Regency. Its value reaches hundreds of billions to trillions of rupiah.
Rohid himself served in the area for two years. Thus, according to Iftitah, Rohid played a role in the progress in that region, especially in the agricultural sector which has been evident.
“There is a contribution that he never told, there is silent work that he never displayed,” he stated.
Iftitah has heard the story of Rohid’s life full of simplicity and struggle. Since childhood, Rohid was determined to change his family’s fate.
As a child, Rohid wanted to elevate the status of his parents. From there, his determination emerged. He promised to send his parents on umrah.
“He lived simply, money from his parents he often returned. If asking, only a little. He even bought a motorbike from his own scholarship,” he explained.
During his life, Rohid did not want to be a burden to the family. He was a figure who tended not to talk much. Nevertheless, he achieved many accomplishments.
He walked in silence, without anyone listening. Even, the family only learned of Rohid’s trove of achievements after he had passed away.
“Of course this is not just humility, this is sincerity that is rarely found these days,” he said.
The lesson that can be learned from Rohid, according to him, is about how to give meaning to life. Although Rohid did not have time to stand on the graduation stage, he has stood in a much higher place.
“And today we increasingly understand that transmigration is no longer just about relocating people. Transmigration has transformed into a flood of knowledge and technology with the presence of superior human resources for creating area-based economic ecosystems,” he explained.
“Farewell Abdul Rohid. We will continue your dream and the path of service that you have opened so that this life is truly meaningful,” he remembered.
It is known that Abdul Rohid passed away while serving in the Patriot Expedition Team (TEP) in the Bahari Tomini Raya area, Central Sulawesi, on Heroes’ Day, Monday (10/10/2025). The ITS student was supposed to graduate with cum laude honours last September, but chose to postpone the graduation ceremony to go to Sulawesi.
The Patriot Expedition is a community service programme that combines research, technology, and community empowerment. Initiated by the Ministry of Transmigrasi, this programme involves students, alumni, and lecturers from various universities, including ITS, to engage in service missions in various regions. The ITS team was deployed starting Saturday, 23 August 2025.
In the Patriot Expedition, Rohid was tasked with helping to map economic potential in the Bahari Tomini Raya Transmigration Area. According to the campus side, Rohid’s health condition deteriorated during the duty trip until he finally passed away.
For Rohid’s service, the Ministry of Transmigration of the Republic of Indonesia handed over a certificate of appreciation, diploma, and graduation symbol from ITS to his family at a tribute ceremony in Kalitengah, Tanggulangin, Sidoarjo, East Java, on Tuesday (11/11/2025).
Figure of Abdul Rohid
During his studies, Rohid was active in learning to innovate with peers and lecturers. One design led by his team, an IoT-based hydroponics named Hi-Pot, successfully won second place in the national scientific paper competition Agrocompetition organised by the Agronomy Student Association of the Faculty of Agriculture IPB University in 2022.
In the same year, Rohid and fellow students also won second place in the national scientific paper competition LOYALISM 2022 at Institut Teknologi Telkom Surabaya. Their team’s work was titled Utilisation of Gas Emission Capture into Electricity Energy Based on Electrochemistry as an Industrial Innovation to Achieve Net Zero Emissions.