Shattered dreams

Just recently, (Feb.16-19) the Governor of West Sumatra invited journalists of the local and foreign press to visit his province. The aim was promote tourism and attract investors to develop a region which offers the best of sceneries, natural preserves and culture. It was a good gesture on the part of Gamawan Fauzi, the first person to be elected West Sumatra governor in a free and direct election process in 2005. But three years after his election, many parts of West Sumatra remain under-developed. Except for Padang and Bukittinggi, infrastructure is poor especially in the southern coastal regencies such as Kabupaten Pesisir Selatan where the journalists visited. In 2006, Irul Azwardi, a native villager of Lenggayang, Pesisir Selatan, wrote a letter to the governor. In the letter, Irul said that he didn’t find any significant development when he returned home to his village after eight years living on Java in search for a better life and fortune. He was expecting that his home village had changed and prospered over time. But to his surprise, there were no paved roads yet and everything looked the same. He then called on the governor to pay attention to the village and asked him to call on rich conglomerates of Minang origin living in Jakarta to return home and invest in West Sumatra. Officials have said natural disasters and lack of funding prevented the the region from developing. But such excuses are typical with regional officials and they just don’t make sense. There are many investment opportunities in West Sumatra such as tourism and hotel businesses. But if the local government officials don’t change their mindset and do something to develop roads and a good transportation system, the investors and the tourists will not come.