Intake Of Knowledge About The City Of Padang For Pak Jokowi, Who Often Says Wrongly

President Jokowi (Instagram / @ jokowi)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) referred to Padang as a province when giving his speech in the middle of the Trans Sumatra toll road construction project, the Pekanbaru-Bangkinang section. This article is for the President, so that he knows.

Citing a broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat YouTube account, Wednesday, May 19, Jokowi explained the progress of the Trans Sumatra toll road construction. It has reached approximately 40 kilometers, said Jokowi.

"Once again, with the opening of many toll road sections, we hope that the mobility of goods for people's mobility can be accelerated and we have high competitiveness against other countries and existing products in Riau Province and Padang Province will have good competitiveness, especially in order to compete with other countries' products, "said Jokowi.

About the city of Padang

Padang City is the capital city of West Sumatra Province. Geographically, it is on the west coast of the island of Sumatra, between 0o44 'and 01o08' South Latitude and between 100o05 'and 100o34' East Longitude.

Based on Government Regulation Number 17/1980, the area of Padang City was recorded at 694.96 km2 or 1.65 percent of the area of West Sumatra Province. Padang City consists of eleven Districts. The geography of the city of Padang consists of 51.01 percent protected forest and 7.35 percent for buildings and structures. The rest is agricultural land and settlements.

Padang City also has 19 large and small islands. The altitude of the city of Padang varies considerably, between 0–1853 m asl. Passed by 5 major rivers and 16 small rivers. The average temperature of Padang City is recorded to be quite low every year, with humidity levels ranging from 81–88 percent.

History of the city of Padang

Quoted from the official website of the Padang City Government, as long as the VOC was in power - from 1602 to 1799, this city was a meeting place for various ethnicities and cultural, linguistic and religious backgrounds. The writings of historians mention the city of Padang as the base of Dutch trade and military power in the 18th and 19th centuries.

On May 20, 1784, for the first time the Dutch established the city of Padang as the center of its position and the center of trade in West Sumatra. In 1793 this city was sacked and controlled by a pirate from France based in Mauritius: François Thomas Le Même.

He was a figure whose success was appreciated by the French government at that time. Then in 1795 the city of Padang was again taken over by the British. However, after the Napoleonic wars, in 1819 the Dutch reclaimed the area, which was confirmed by the Treaty of London, signed on 17 March 1824.

In 1837, the Dutch East Indies Government made Padang the center of government for the West Coast region of Sumatra, whose territory includes modern West Sumatra and Tapanuli. Until the end of the 18th century, the city of Padang was only around Batang Arau, Kampung Cina, Kampung Keling, Pasar Hilir, Pasar Homecoming, Pulau Aia, Ranah Binuang, Alang Lawas and Seberang Padang.

Towards the entry of the Japanese occupation troops on March 17, 1942, the city of Padang was abandoned by the Dutch because of their panic. At the same time Soekarno was detained in this city because the Dutch at that time wanted to take him to escape to Australia.

Then the commander of the Japanese Army for Sumatra met him to discuss Indonesia's next fate. After the Japanese were able to take control of the situation, the city was then made into an administrative city for development and public works.

News of Indonesia's independence on 17 August 1945 only reached the city of Padang around the end of August. However, on October 10, 1945, Allied troops entered Padang through the port of Teluk Bayur, and then the city was occupied for 15 months.

On March 9, 1950, the city of Padang was returned to the hands of the Republic of Indonesia after previously becoming an RIS state through the Decree of the President of the Republic of Indonesia (RIS) number 111.

On May 29, 1958, the Governor of West Sumatra through Decree No. 1 / g / PD / 1958, de facto designated Padang as the capital of the province of West Sumatra, and de jure in 1975, which was marked by the issuance of Law Number 5 years 1974 concerning the Principles of Government in the Regions.

Then, after accommodating all the aspirations and needs of the local community, the central government issued Government Regulation No. 17 of 1980, which stipulated changes to the boundaries of the city of Padang as a regional government.

Through the decree of the Governor of West Sumatra dated May 17, 1946 No. 103 Padang was designated as a big city. The first Mayor of Padang, Mr. Abubakar Ja'ar (1945-1946), served only a few months. Mr Abubakar Ja'ar was transferred to reside in East Sumatra. Furthermore, Padang was led by Bagindo Aziz Chan (1946-1947) who was known as the Fighting Mayor. He died on July 17, 1947 at the hands of the Dutch colonialists.

Not the first for Jokowi

This is not the first time Jokowi has misidentified administrative areas in the country he leads. Previously, President Jokowi's official Facebook account had also incorrectly written the location of the province, which should have been written in South Sulawesi as North Sulawesi.

The error occurred in an upload dated November 5, 2014. "Today I did blusukan to North Sulawesi. Accompanied by the First Lady, Iriana, at around 10.00 this morning, thank God I arrived in Makassar and will inspect the irrigation and participate in the rice harvesting activities in Sidrap. "written in the upload at that time.

Others, quoted by Tempo, have also been criticized by netizens for saying something wrong in the middle of a speech to commemorate Pancasila's Birthday, June 1, 2015. In a speech held in the town square of Blitar, East Java, Jokowi mentioned Blitar as the birthplace of President Woekarno.

Wrong, of course. Soekarno was born in Surabaya, to be precise in Peneleh on June 6, 1901. "Every time I am in Blitar, the hometown of our Proklamotor, my heart always shakes," said Jokowi at that time.

Not finished. In Denpasar, Jokowi also made a similar mistake. At that time, Friday, March 22, 2019, Jokowi inaugurated the Badung Market in Denpasar.

"All residents of Denpasar City, especially Badung," said Jokowi before the inauguration, Friday, March 22 2019.

The error was responded with cheers. Jokowi then straightened out, "All residents of Denpasar City, especially the Badung Market," said Jokowi, which was then greeted by applause from the people present.

At that time Jokowi reasoned, "I change provinces every hour. Every hour change districts. Every hour it changes cities so that sometimes it gets error. Sorry. This morning I was still in Jakarta, noon in Lombok, in the afternoon we arrived in Denpasar, we were uyeled to the front here, ”he said at that time.

* Read other information about HISTORY OF NUSANTARA or read other interesting writings from Yudhistira Mahabharata.

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