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A renewed hope for Aceh
The bigger problem for Aceh today is the high rate of unemployment and poverty. Unemployment in Aceh stood at 8.13 percent, or 182,000 people, the four highest nationally.
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Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Aceh. (Shutterstock/File)
I
rwandi Yusuf won Aceh’s 2017 gubernatorial election after leading in the polls of the 2017 regional election. He was formally declared as the winner by the province’s election commission with 48 percent more votes over his opponent, Muzakkir Manaf. The Constitutional Court on Tuesday also rejected a challenge brought by his rival.
Irwandi is not a new figure for Acehnese or the central government. He is the first governor-elect after the 2005 peace agreement between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government, serving from 2007-2012.
Most of his supporters argued that Irwandi had demonstrated his credibility when he served as a governor by launching a series of programs. Two most notable initiatives are the Aceh Health Insurance (Jaminan Kesehatan Aceh) and the Aceh scholarship. Due to these endeavors, Aceh people now yearn for a progressive leader and pin their hopes on effective programs, particularly for human resources development and social welfare.
Still, more needs to be accomplished by the governor-elect. The bigger problem for Aceh today is the high rate of unemployment and poverty. Unemployment in Aceh stood at 8.13 percent, or 182,000 people, the four highest nationally, according to the February data of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).
Furthermore, despite having many natural resources such as oil and gas, Aceh remains notoriously poor. A current report stated that Aceh is the second poorest province in Sumatra with 841.0000 of its population (16.43 percent) considered poor.
The special autonomy fund received between 2008 and 2015 amounting to at least Rp.42 trillion did not significantly decrease poverty rates in Aceh. Corruption and lack of transparency have become a major contribution to poverty. Social welfare is therefore a crucial homework for the governor-elect as well as law enforcement.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) also should put Aceh under close supervision, given the extraordinary level of corruption in the province.
