Dico Ganinduto Is Believed To Be Ready To Bring Change To Semarang City

Political Observer Herry Mendrofa also responded regarding the statement by Kendal Regent Dico Ganinduto who assessed that Semarang City as the capital city of the province was left behind compared to other regions.

Herry considered that the statement was reasonable for Dico, as a candidate who would run for the 2024 Regional Head Election (Pilkada) in Semarang City, Central Java.

"I think it is one of the reasonable candidates for Dico to convey this. This effort is also a strategy on how to see the public's response. It's a kind of wave check," Herry said in his statement to reporters, Tuesday, August 6.

As a candidate, according to him, Dico must definitely pay attention to strong issues or trends.

"And other candidates have not been included in this side. And this can also be interpreted as a form of Dico's readiness to fight and bring changes to Semarang," he continued.

Because according to him, Semarang City can be seen from the considerations of comparing the strengths and weaknesses of the provincial capital which on the island of Java still needs to be addressed.

"Say (compared to) the closest Yogya or Surabaya, obviously still need improvement, Semarang needs good improvement," he continued.

Herry assessed that Semarang needs branding as a city or area that is safe, comfortable, and can be known by the public, because it represents Central Java.

"If you look at Central Java, it's Semarang. So this is his criticism. So far Semarang has been a representation of Central Java's weakness if there are no changes and improvements. His criticism entry point is here," he said.

In addition, according to him, flood disasters are still a problem in the city of Semarang, which means there are weaknesses in terms of regional governance.

"So this variable alone can be used as an autocritical basis for the previous government's performance," said Herry.

Furthermore, he also suggested that Dico remain focused by taking concrete steps and offering programs related to his criticism.

"What Dico needs to do, it's just a matter of concrete steps in the future, what program offers for criticism are clearly explained to the public," he added.

So according to him, if Dico's criticism of Semarang City is used as a black campaign wrong address. Because the 2024 Pilkada registration process has not yet started.

"Dico has not registered with the KPU, meaning that his personal assumption is purely an effort to attract electoral or check the waves for public responses," he said.

For information, the Atlas City poverty rate is from 3.9 percent to 4.5 percent in 2023. Meanwhile, based on the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN), 21,000 families in Semarang City, Central Java experienced extreme poverty.