A Yellow Light For Bobby Nasution While Fighting In Corruption-Prone Areas

Bobby Nasution (Mery Handayani / VOI)

JAKARTA - Bobby Nasution is running as a candidate for regional head of Medan City in the 2020 Pilkada. This son-in-law of President Joko Widodo must be vigilant about fighting in this place. Because, it is recorded that there are three leaders of Medan City, successively caught in corruption cases.

Political observer from Voxpol Center Research and Consulting Pangi Syarwi Chaniago said Bobby had to be aware of the potential for corrupt practices if he wanted to win votes in the capital of North Sumatra Province.

"Bobby must be careful with the label of a corrupt leader in Medan. Moreover, Bobby's political interests are the highest compared to other candidates because he holds the title as the president's son-in-law," Pangi told VOI , Monday, July 27.

Bobby is a strong name that is recommended by the PDI-P. Meanwhile, the Gerindra Party, Golkar Party, and PPP are also rumored to be joining the coalition to carry Bobby.

The problem, he said, is that if Bobby is determined to register himself, more political interests will come to Bobby's agenda, compared to candidates who do not directly touch the president.

"The problem is, Bobby's political stakes bring Jokowi's good name. The question of whether the president's influence can be used or not, we will see in this battle," said Pangi.

On that basis, Pangi suggested that Bobby should bring the antithetical narrative of what the previous Medan City government had done. Anti-corruption narratives must be battled during the election campaign period.

"He must guarantee that he will not do the same thing (corruption), so that he is not considered to be exploiting abuse of power because of his closeness to the president," he said.

President Jokowi while cycling at the Bogor Presidential Palace Complex (Photo: BPMI Setpres / Muchlis Jr)

Previously reported, a series of corruption cases that ensnared Medan City government officials started from the former mayor of Medan for the 2005-2010 period, Abdillah. Abdillah was sentenced to 4 years in prison for misappropriation of APBD funds in the procurement of a fire engine.

Furthermore, the corruption case ensnared the former mayor of Medan for the 2010-2015 period, Rahudman Harahap. Rahudman, who previously served as the Regional Secretary of Medan City, embezzled village apparatus allowances amounting to Rp1.5 billion. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison for his actions.

The next case is the inactive Mayor of Medan for the 2015-2020 period, Dzulmi Eldin. Dzulmi was arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) team in October 2019. Dzulmi was proven to have committed bribery related to projects and positions in the Medan City government.