After those early years in the palm oil mill, life began to move at a much faster pace.
I got married, welcomed my first child, and somehow, the loneliness I once felt in the plantation slowly disappeared. With my beloved wife by my side, life in the estate no longer felt strange or difficult. As the Malay saying goes, alah bisa tegal biasa—what is difficult at first eventually becomes familiar.
At work, managers came and went, and each new manager brought a different leadership style and a new opportunity to learn. I began to understand that managing a palm oil mill was not simply about machinery, production, and numbers. It was also about managing people—people from different backgrounds, personalities, cultures, and experiences.
Whatever happened at the management level often became the topic of conversation among the staff. To me, however, those stories were simply part of the daily journey—small episodes that carried valuable lessons.
I remained focused on one thing: what do I need to accomplish during my first five years in the industry?
Without realising it, I began setting my sights on two important goals.
The first was to obtain my Steam Engineer competency license, under the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH/JKKP).
The second was to enroll in DIPOM—Diploma in Palm Oil Milling Technology and Management, a program organized by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB).
My interest in DIPOM grew even stronger because my second manager was a former top student of the program. I admired his knowledge and experience, and knowing that he had once excelled in DIPOM made me even more determined to follow the same path.
There was, however, one obstacle.
At that time, I was not the most senior assistant engineer. There was another engineer who had served longer than I did, and naturally, he would have priority to attend the course.
But life has its own way of opening doors.
When I was instructed to transfer to the second mill, that obstacle disappeared.
In 2007, I finally registered for DIPOM at PLASMA, Lahad Datu, Sabah.
At that time, the MPOB program was conducted alternately between MPOB Headquarters and PLASMA in Lahad Datu. Due to various developments in the following years, the training centre was eventually moved from Lahad Datu to MPOB Kota Kinabalu, where it continues today.
After more than four years of being almost completely surrounded by oil palm plantations, with the difficulties of travelling in and out of the estate, DIPOM felt like a window opening to the outside world.
For the first time in years, I had the opportunity to step beyond the boundaries of my own mill and discover the wider palm oil industry.
And it was an exciting time.
At the same time, I was already holding responsibilities in managing a palm oil mill. I had to balance everything—work, assignments, projects, travelling, study, and family.
Time management became essential.
So did knowing what to prioritize.
Stepping Out of the Shell
DIPOM was more than just a diploma to me.
It was like coming out of a shell.
I met people from the MPOB Training Unit who were highly knowledgeable and passionate about the industry. I met engineers from many of Malaysia's leading plantation and palm oil companies. More importantly, I met industry veterans—people who had spent decades building, improving, and developing the palm oil industry.
Their knowledge and stories opened my eyes.
They inspired me to remain committed to the industry from the very first day I joined the program.
The DIPOM program covered four major areas:
Palm Oil Technology
Engineering & Utilities
Mill Management
Industry, Environment & Sustainability
The objective was not simply to teach participants technical knowledge. It was designed to help us understand the development of the palm oil industry, research and development, management principles, environmental and sustainability issues, and the opportunities to engage directly with industry experts.
It was not a program where we simply sat in a classroom listening to lectures.
There were discussions, projects, assignments, practical sessions and examinations.
The program consisted of three semesters, covering a total of 20 days of study, with a final examination at the end of each semester. Assessment was based on 70% examinations and 30% projects and assignments.
For someone who loved learning new things, this was an exciting experience.
Previously, my world revolved around one mill.
DIPOM expanded that world.
I began to see the palm oil industry not as separate pieces, but as one interconnected chain—from upstream plantations to palm oil mills, refineries and the wider downstream industry.
I also had the opportunity to meet people from regulatory agencies such as JKKP and DOE. For the first time, I was not only looking at the industry from the perspective of my own company. I was seeing it through the eyes of people from other organizations, companies and sectors.
I made full use of the opportunity.
Whenever we had weekends off, I would visit mills belonging to my new friends. Each visit exposed me to different technologies, practices and ways of managing operations.
Every mill had a story.
Every engineer had something to teach.
Palm Oil Mill Design
One of the projects that captured my interest was Palm Oil Mill Design.
We were required to prepare a complete proposal for the development of a 60 MT/hour palm oil mill, starting from the feasibility study and project justification.
We had to consider almost everything.
How large should the supplying plantation be?
What should be the capacity of the mill?
How should the ramp, sterilizer, threshing system, digesters and presses be designed?
What about the boiler?
The turbine?
The clarification system?
The kernel recovery system?
The utilities?
Every major component had to be justified and calculated properly.
The calculations had to be accurate because a mistake in one part of the design could affect the performance, cost and viability of the entire mill.
I particularly enjoyed this subject because it was taught by Ir. Amin Buhari, a highly respected figure in the palm oil industry who had been involved in numerous new mill development projects within one of the country's prominent government-linked companies.
His experience made the subject come alive.
It was no longer just about formulas and engineering calculations.
It was about understanding why a particular design was selected.
That lesson stayed with me.
Seeing the Industry Differently
During the program, we also visited palm oil mills and refineries in the surrounding areas.
These visits gave us exposure to new technologies and, importantly, to the downstream sector.
Before DIPOM, my understanding of the industry was largely shaped by what I saw every day at the mill.
After DIPOM, I began to understand the bigger picture.
I started asking different questions.
Where does our crude palm oil go after it leaves the mill?
How is it refined?
What technologies are used downstream?
How do upstream decisions affect downstream quality?
How do engineering, economics, environmental requirements and sustainability come together?
DIPOM gave me the foundation to think beyond my immediate responsibilities.
Looking back, I believe this exposure played an important role in a decision I would make many years later.
After almost 15 years in the upstream sector, I eventually decided to move into downstream palm oil processing.
And, in many ways, the journey began with DIPOM.
More Than a Diploma
After completing all the learning requirements and examinations, I passed the program.
The following year, a grand diploma presentation ceremony was held in Sandakan, Sabah. At the same event, certificates were also presented to participants of the Palm Oil Mill Supervisor course.
The ceremony became another opportunity to meet people who were deeply involved in the industry.
I met experts from plantations, industry associations and NGOs supporting the palm oil sector.
Some of the friendships formed during DIPOM continued long after the course ended.
Among them were friends from FGV who later became my study-group partners when I prepared for the Grade 1 Steam Engineer examination.
That was another unexpected benefit of DIPOM.
It did not merely give me a certificate.
It gave me a network of people who shared the same passion for learning and improving themselves.
Giving Back
Today, when I look back at DIPOM, I consider it one of the most valuable program MPOB has ever offered to engineers in the palm oil industry.
It provides a strong foundation for engineers who will eventually take on greater responsibilities—as mill managers, technical leaders, plant managers and other professionals throughout the industry.
Ultimately, these people become part of the generation responsible for leading the Malaysian palm oil industry forward.
The knowledge shared by the industry experts left a deep impression on me.
Their experience gave me confidence.
Their stories gave me inspiration.
And their dedication reminded me that being part of the palm oil industry was more than simply having a job.
It was an opportunity to contribute to an industry that supports millions of people and plays an important role in the country's economy.
But perhaps the most meaningful part of the story came almost a decade later.
About ten years after I completed DIPOM, I received a call from MPOB.
They invited me to become a lecturer for several topics in the same program.
I was deeply touched.
The student who had once sat in the classroom, listening to experienced industry experts and absorbing everything he could, was now being invited to stand at the front of the classroom and share his own experience with the next generation.
It felt like life had come full circle.
What I had received a decade earlier, I was now given the opportunity to give back.
That, to me, was the true meaning of education.
Learn. Apply. Grow. Then give back.
Thank you, MPOB, for giving me the opportunity to step beyond my own little world and see the palm oil industry from a much wider perspective.
DIPOM did not merely teach me how a palm oil mill works.
It taught me to see the industry as a whole.
It introduced me to people who shaped my thinking.
It opened doors I did not know existed.
And, unknowingly, it planted the seed that would eventually take me from upstream to downstream.
Most importantly, it taught me that knowledge becomes more meaningful when it is shared.
May the Malaysian palm oil industry continue to grow, innovate and contribute to the world.
That is my story today.
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