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The governor of West Sumatra on Sunday expressed confidence that the province would not encounter any problems as it continues to rebuild after last month’s devastating earthquake despite his departure to take up a new post in the central government.

Governor Gamawan Fauzi underwent a medical check-up at the Gatot Subroto Army Hospital in Central Jakarta on Sunday after a meeting at President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s private residence in Cikeas, West Java on Saturday.

He is widely expected to become the next Minister of Home Affairs.

On Sunday, Gamawan said his staff in West Sumatra would have no problem taking care of the province, which was struck by a 7.6 magnitude quake on Sept. 30 that killed more than 1,100 people.

“There is a working [succession] system in place,” Gamawan said. “If the governor is unavailable, there’s the deputy governor, and when the deputy governor is away, there’s also the regional secretary.”

He declined to comment on whether West Sumatra residents would be happy to see their governor appointed to a key ministry position.

“Ask the people. Don’t ask me,” he said.

Ade Edward, the head of West Sumatra’s Disaster Management Agency, said on Sunday that the province would miss Gamawan.

“But it’s for the best. We hope Gamawan will be as successful on a national scale as he was here,” Ade said.

“We’ll be able to handle the aftermath of the earthquake — he even got compliments from the United Nations.”

Gamawan said living conditions in the province had improved significantly since the quake.

All of the victims have been identified, except for the people who were buried in landslides, he said.

He added that electricity had been restored in 95 percent of the province.

“Telephone services are back 100 percent, water 85 percent,” he said.

“The provincial government distributed relief goods for 20 days after the earthquake. We’ve also set up 3,100 emergency classrooms for students.”

Gamawan said a team was now working to calculate the province’s total financial losses from the quake.

“We don’t have exact figures yet,” Gamawan said. “We will likely announce them on [Wednesday].”

Ade said the death toll was expected to continue to climb because recovery teams were still expected to find bodies under the rubble in locations throughout the province.

Gamawan refused to share his thoughts on why the president might select him for a key ministerial post.

Yudhoyono may have noticed his achievements in West Sumatra, however.

“The provincial poverty rate is under 10 percent, the unemployment rate is below 8 percent and economic growth is above 8 percent,” he said.

“We are above the national average.”

He declined to comment on what position in the central government the president might ask him to take.