Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, JAKARTA | Thu, 02/05/2009 8:46 AM
Ulini Tapanuli, molo saut au taruli, provinsi Tapanuli, mauliate ma (How beautiful Tapanuli would be if it were its own province).
These words, sung proudly as part of a popular Batak song from the 1990s, called for people living in and around the western areas of North Sumatra to push for the creation of their own province.
The message from this melodious tune turned sour Tuesday when a group supporting the formation of the province turned violent, attacking provincial legislative speaker Abdul Azis Angkat outside a court. Although rushed to hospital, he was pronounced dead just a few hours later.
A lecturer at the Methodist University in Medan, Himpun Panggabean, who has written extensively on the proposed provincial area, said the Tapanuli province would comprise of seven regencies: North Tapanuli, Central Tapanuli, the southern section of Nias island, Sibolga, Humbang Hasundutan, Toba Samosir and Samosir island, the famed tourist attraction resting in the middle of Lake Toba.
“This area was outlined in the final draft of the proposal submitted to the House of Representatives in Jakarta,” Panggabean told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
He said in the past, many proposals had been floated for the creation of the province, some encompassing different areas such as the coffee-rich Dairi regency on the province’s northern border with Aceh.
Humbang Hasundutan, Toba Samosir and Samosir are newborn regencies which, along with several others, separated from North Tapanuli following the introduction of the 1999 regional autonomy law. They are generally poor areas, dominated by the Christian Batak Toba ethnic group, with most people working in agriculture.
However a senior journalist in Medan, who wished to remain anonymous, said that Central Tapanuli, Sibolga and South Nias had withdrawn from the proposed Tapanuli province. While Dairi is said to be among other regencies proposed for inclusion in the new province, Dairi regent Master Tumanggor said they had “rejected” the invitation to join from the beginning.
Master told the Post Wednesday that Dairi wished to join an entirely separate proposed province with the regencies of Pematang Siantar, Simalungun, Karo and Langkat. Not only are they geographically closer, they also share an abundance of coffee, rubber and cacao plantations compared to those touted for the Tapanuli province proposal.
With a total area stretching over 72,000 square kilometers and a population of over 12 million, citizens in several parts of North Sumatra have long complained that economic disparity is extreme within the province.
Observers have raised concerns about the prospect of North Sumatra, a diverse province, splitting up into ethnic- and religious-based areas, particularly when the proposals seem to be nothing more than vote-grabbing tactics by politicians ahead of the April elections.
