Medan towards 2011: doubt vs hope

MEDAN, December 20, 2010 | Year-end countdown to step closer while breakthrough policies not yet performed by North Sumatera government. On the contrarily, law violations issue seems disseminated mostly by medias; such as graft case that is reportedly to suspect Medan city mayor Rahudman Harahap. North Sumatera governor Syamsul Arifin, even faces worst scenario as Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) declared him a suspect in a Langkat budget embezzlement case, and is still detained in Jakarta. Rumors saying that he might serve the jail period for more a hundred days.

Along with KPK released an index of provincial government performance, national public eventually addressed at North Sumatera province as the most corrupted government compared with provinces evaluated by the anti graft commission. The announcement, actually, not surprising since the Indonesian Corruption Watch has issued similar assesment earlier.

However, it is a questionable stance to find no media willing to link the disappointed ‘achievement’ with North Sumatera’s image among investors and national/International scale community. Instead, the regional government stands firm those cases unlikely ruin the administration affairs.

The economic growth, nationally, is easily to refer from Jakarta’s surveys. But not for those aim to learn economic condition in North Sumatera, particularly in Medan city as the capital. The situation has long caused apathetic stance to regard the interest, mostly from internal side. Rare finding found to hold a deep study investment oppurtunity in the province, that might need to expand more seriously.