Reasons Bobby Berates Sub-District Head in Tapteng: 'Don't Act Like You're the Hardest Worker'

Governor of North Sumatra, Bobby Nasution, lost his temper with the Sub-District Head of Tukka, Yan Munzir Hutagalung, while inspecting the construction of embankments and sabo dams along a river affected by disaster in Central Tapanuli Regency (Tapteng). Numerous residents complained about not yet receiving aid, and the slow pace of land acquisition was the cause of Bobby’s anger.

“First, every time we come to Tapteng, the people’s complaints are always about not having received aid, whereas in other disaster areas like Tapsel, Taput, or even neighbouring Sibolga, there are still complaints but not as many. Every point we visit in Tapteng, the people say they haven’t received aid,” said Bobby Nasution after paying respects at the Heroes’ Cemetery in Medan for North Sumatra’s 78th Anniversary, as reported by detikSumut on Wednesday (15/4/2026).

“We have repeatedly asked to speed up the data collection, because it’s purely about the data, not that there is no aid; the aid is there, but it’s just the data, from the lowest level up to the Regent. We have reminded them many times,” he explained.

Bobby’s emotions peaked during the inspection of the river handling project to be undertaken by the Big River Basin Agency (BBWS) of the Ministry of Public Works (PU) in Tukka. Bobby was annoyed because the work had been contracted for a month but had not yet started.

“Yesterday, what made us a bit heated was the river handling; we asked to focus on that. The Ministry of PU contracted it a month ago but it still can’t start. Imagine that. Don’t let our Agency Head get a reprimand from the Ministry of PU; that’s the Ministry of PU’s work, not the Provincial Government’s,” he stated.

Bobby is confident that if the sub-district head down to the neighbourhood head (Kepling) engages with the residents, land acquisition can proceed. However, because the residents have not received aid, Bobby believes they are reluctant regarding land release since they haven’t received any assistance.

“We want that to happen immediately; it’s been a month and nothing has been done because of field issues. So we ask the one in the field, the Sub-District Head. I was once a Mayor, so we know how field work is done. If the sub-district head waits, the village head waits, the neighbourhood head waits, it can definitely proceed. This has been a month without progress; there are so many excuses, this resident or that resident, why? Because they haven’t received aid yet. So the people feel their land is being taken for development but they haven’t received any aid. So we demand and sternly reprimand that,” he said.

Furthermore, Bobby admitted to receiving complaints from residents about water rising into settlements if rain pours for just one hour in the area. Bobby himself witnessed the incident directly.