Regent successfully attracts investors<\/p>\n
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
No many people would give up a promising career in a big city
\nlike Jakarta to work back in their native village.<\/p>\n
But that is not the case with Master P. Tumanggor, the current
\nregent of Dairi regency, North Sumatra province.<\/p>\n
He left Jakarta in 1999, while still holding a key position as
\ndirector of planning at the Office of the State Minister of State
\nEnterprises and won the election for the position of regent.<\/p>\n
\"I simply wish to devote my entire life to Dairi regency,\" the
\nfather of four said at a recent interview.<\/p>\n
Dairi, a mountainous regency on the western part of beautiful
\nLake Toba, is located about 110 kilometers from Medan, the
\ncapital of North Sumatra province.<\/p>\n
It takes about four hours to reach the regency via land
\ntransportation from Medan.<\/p>\n
Regional Autonomy Watch (KPPOD) recently gave Dairi an award
\nfor creating the best institutional environment for investors.<\/p>\n
Tumanggor, who holds a PhD in public finance from Universite
\nof Paris Dauphine in Paris, said that the decision to leave for
\nDairi was taken after observing the dire state of the regency and
\nthe increasing number of poor people in the area.<\/p>\n
\"I felt sympathy for the villagers. I wanted to help speed up
\n(economic) development in the area and help lift people from
\npoverty,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Many parents cannot send their children to school because
\nthey just don't have the money.\"<\/p>\n
He added that the local people could not even develop the
\npotential of the regency's agriculture sector due to their lack
\nof knowledge about good farming systems and marketing.<\/p>\n
But Tumanggor had to face criticism, both from his own family
\nand friends, over his decision to leave Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"I admit it was difficult to leave,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"That's why my wife and children strongly opposed my decision.
\nThey wanted me to continue my career in Jakarta,\" said the 52-
\nyear-old, who worked at the Office of the State Minister of State
\nEnterprises from 1992.<\/p>\n
Today, his four children live in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Even my six-year-old, youngest daughter prefers to live in
\nJakarta with a maid rather than in Dairi,\" said Tumanggor.<\/p>\n
Not only his family opposed the decision. \"Many of my friends
\nsaid that I was stupid and crazy to end my career in Jakarta only
\nfor the small regency of Dairi,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Dairi has long been known as one of the coffee farming areas
\nin North Sumatra. Most of the plantations are privately owned by
\nfarmers.<\/p>\n
The regency produces some 15,000 tons of coffee per year.<\/p>\n
Tumanggor realized that to accelerate economic development in
\nDairi, the role of investors was crucial. Since assuming office,
\nhe moved quickly to create a favorable investment climate in the
\nregency.<\/p>\n
Among the positive factors cited by KPPOD in the regency are
\ninvestor-friendly government policy, legal certainties and better
\nbureaucracy, compared with those in other regions.<\/p>\n
\"Frankly speaking ... I never imagined that Dairi would be as
\nit is now (cited as the most encouraging place for investment)
\nwithin the country,\" Tumanggor said.<\/p>\n
\"I also did not know when KPPOD visited the regency -- I was
\nvery surprised at its announcement,\" he added.<\/p>\n
He remembered that, when he first arrived in Dairi, investors
\nwere very reluctant to visit the regency due to the poor
\ninvestment climate there.<\/p>\n
Indeed, many regional administrations, after they obtained
\nautonomy, were so aggressive in collecting revenue that they
\nsqueezed investors, thus scaring away potential new investors.<\/p>\n
To run Dairi's administration, Tumanggor admitted that he had
\nlearned a lot from former minister of finance Mar'ie Muhammad.<\/p>\n
\"He has a strong spirit; I admire his systematic approach and
\ndecision-making methods,\" said Tumanggor.<\/p>\n
He said that in a bid to attract investors he had launched a
\ncampaign among local government officials that investors should
\nbe treated like kings.<\/p>\n
\"I treat investors like kings, which means that I must serve
\nthem as well as possible,\" Tumanggor said.<\/p>\n
\"I often pick up visiting investors myself at the airport,\" he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
From the start, he also moved to create a more efficient
\nbureaucracy.<\/p>\n
Tumanggor added that better cooperation with the local
\nlegislative council was another key to creating a better policy.<\/p>\n
He said that local lawmakers had the same view as he that the
\nrole of investors was crucial to the local economy.<\/p>\n
\"It would be impossible to create investor-friendly policy if
\nmembers of the council opposed our proposals,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Soon after the KPPOD announcement, Tumanggor received dozens
\nof congratulatory messages from local investors.<\/p>\n
\"We also received proposals from a number of investors. They
\nplan to invest in our regency,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Minister of Trade and Industry Rini Soewandi is expected soon
\nto officially launch a cold storage facility in the regency, the
\nonly one in North Sumatra province.<\/p>\n
\"It will become the center for storing vegetables from several
\nregencies, such as North Tapanuli and Tobasa, before sending them
\nto traditional markets and for export,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The regency is also planning to turn a 10-hectare area into a
\nreligious center, where the five religions officially accepted in
\nthe country can establish places of worship in the area.<\/p>\n
Tumanggor said this could potentially stimulate tourism in the
\nregency.<\/p>\n
Minister of Religious Affairs Said Agil Munawar is expected to
\nofficially launch the complex next year.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/regent-successfully-attracts-investors-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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