Funeral of PT Djarum Boss Planned in Central Java
Kudus (ANTARA) - The funeral of Michael Bambang Hartono, owner of the Djarum Group, who was reported to have passed away on Thursday at 13:15 Singapore time, is planned to take place in Central Java Province.
Purwono Nugroho, Senior Manager of Public Affairs at PT Djarum Kudus, confirmed the sad news in Kudus on Thursday.
“Yes, it is true, Mr Michael Bambang Hartono passed away in Singapore. Meanwhile, the burial location is still being discussed,” he said.
The extended family of the deceased is known to originate from Rembang Regency, although the deceased was known to spend more time living in Jakarta recently.
The family home in Rembang Regency still exists, although his closest relatives are scattered in various places.
He added that in the internal family meeting, they are also discussing the schedule for the lying in state of the deceased.
Meanwhile, the body of the deceased, who passed away in Singapore, is estimated to still be in the process of being repatriated to the homeland.
The deceased was known as one of Indonesia’s leading business figures. Together with his brother, Robert Budi Hartono, the deceased managed and developed the major cigarette company PT Djarum into one of the national industrial giants.
Michael Bambang Hartono was born on 2 October 1939, the son of Oei Wie Gwan, the founder of Djarum. Under his leadership, the family business continued to grow rapidly and expanded its influence in various sectors.
His contributions to the environmental field include the trembesi tree planting programme along the North Coast route of Java Island. Meanwhile, in the sports field, his involvement is evident from the development of world-class badminton athletes to the growth of other sports branches such as women’s football, archery, and athletics from an early age.
In the arts field, the Djarum Foundation also initiated a student theatre festival so that students at various levels become familiar with theatre arts.
In the education field, he also made significant contributions through the “Bakti Pendidikan” pillar, focusing on improving the quality of vocational secondary schools, providing scholarships (Djarum Beasiswa Plus), and enhancing the competence of teachers/basic education. This includes school infrastructure improvement programmes, student soft skills training, and industrial curriculum development.