Bangkalan - Arief M Edie's tenure as Acting Regent of Bangkalan has been met with positive evaluations, highlighting the significant contributions and benefits he has brought to the people of Bangkalan Regency. Under his leadership, Bangkalan Regency has achieved remarkable progress, as evidenced by its improved ranking in the 'Monitoring Center for Prevention' (MCP) assessment conducted by the Inspectorate General of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia.

In response to this, the Rector and the entire Academic Community of Universitas Trunojoyo Madura (UTM) expressed their appreciation and awarded the Acting Regent of Bangkalan with a token of appreciation. The event took place as part of a 'Coffee Morning and Discussion' series themed "Synergy between Universitas Trunojoyo Madura and the Bangkalan Regency Government in Accelerating Regional Development" held on the 5th Floor of the UTM Rectorate Building, on Monday (5/2/2024)

During the event, the Rector of UTM, Dr. Safi', SH, MH, presented an award certificate to Arief M Edie, the Acting Regent of Bangkalan, for his performance and contributions to the Bangkalan people and the UTM campus. The awarding ceremony was witnessed directly by the ranks of vice rectors, deans, and officials in the campus environment.

In his remarks, the Rector of UTM expressed his appreciation for the presence of the Acting Regent of Bangkalan and his staff amidst their busy schedules and responsibilities.

"I express my highest appreciation to the Acting Regent (PJ) for his presence to discuss and collaborate for the advancement of the community and the campus,” Safi said

This is to establish cooperation and collaboration to advance each field.

"We express our appreciation, even if it's just in the form of a certificate of honor. Hopefully it can be an energy for the Bangkalan Regency government to be even more enthusiastic in developing Bangkalan Regency," he said

During his speech, Safi' also mentioned the progress of the establishment of the UTM Faculty of Medicine.

"UTM is striving to establish a Faculty of Medicine, documents have been submitted and all necessary steps have been taken," Safi' said.

Arief M Edie expressed his gratitude for the appreciation and award from UTM. Although he admitted that he has not done much for the people of Bangkalan. According to him, the success of his performance is not solely due to himself, but the performance of the entire Bangkalan Regency government apparatus.

If that's a trigger for me to reflect more on myself, then of course I will continue to do it for my own good and for the progress and welfare of the people of Bangkalan, especially for UTM,” Arief said.

The MCP is an application developed by the Corruption Eradication Commission. The purpose of this monitoring is to assess the performance achievements of the program and to prevent corruption through the improvement of governance practices.

Arief recounted that when he first took office, there were indeed several contractual employees who were on the verge of not being paid because the local government still had a debt of Rp 27 billion, which he managed to resolve.

“I read everything, it was indeed a bit tricky but fortunately there were friends from the KPK and Bareskrim.” he said.

However, towards the end of 2023, Arief executed the withdrawal of several budgets that had accumulated due to being unutilized.

"A habit of absorbing the budget at the end of the year that, according to Arief, happens in almost all local governments in Indonesia. Previously I apologize to all ranks that this will be executed, I immediately exercise the budget,” concluded Arief.

Arief's success also adds to the list of positive achievements for Bangkalan Regency. In conclusion, Arief hopes for continued collaboration and support from UTM to address the issues facing Bangkalan Regency. “I hope that collaboration with UTM continues to improve, both in research and other activities,” he stated.