13-12-2023 (JAKARTA) The contentious plan to relocate Indonesia’s capital city from Jakarta to Nusantara in East Kalimantan is facing its first popular test, as it becomes a prominent issue in the ongoing election campaign. One political party has called for the project, spearheaded by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, to be abandoned by the next elected president and government, citing its exorbitant cost estimated at around US$35 billion.
While the project has already obtained political legitimacy through the 2022 law on the Nusantara Capital (IKN) passed by the House of Representatives, it still lacks popular support. Construction has commenced on the once-forested land, with funding entirely derived from the government’s budget. Although numerous foreign and domestic private investors have pledged participation, no financial commitments have been made yet. Their decisions are contingent on the election results and the subsequent government’s stance on the future of the new capital.
The popular legitimacy of the new capital city project has remained uncertain. The endorsement of the House was largely a display of President Jokowi’s influence over the political parties within his coalition government. The Islamist Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) was the sole party out of nine in the House that did not support the bill during the vote in January 2022. In a subsequent vote in October of this year, which aimed to amend certain articles of the IKN Law, the PKS once again opposed the proposal.
Now, the PKS is challenging the Nusantara project’s popularity by bringing it to the people’s attention during the election campaign. The party promises that if it emerges victorious, it will repeal the IKN Law by sending it back to the House. In the 2019 legislative election, the PKS secured 8.21% of the national votes, placing sixth. The party hopes to sway the silent voices that privately rejected the capital relocation, thereby increasing its share of the votes.
The PKS has formed a coalition with the NasDem Party and the Nation Awakening Party (PKB) to nominate former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan for president, with PKB chairman Muhaimin Iskandar as his running mate. The presidential and legislative elections are scheduled to be held simultaneously on February 14, 2024, intertwining the fate of the parties and candidates.
Anies has been cautious about endorsing the project in his campaign, stating that if elected, he would respect the law. However, he has not ruled out the possibility of revising the project by bringing it back to the House. The PKB and NasDem, which ranked fourth and fifth respectively in the 2019 election, have refrained from addressing the issue in their campaigns, as they had previously supported both the endorsement and subsequent amendment of the IKN bill.
The level of popularity or opposition to the new capital project remains unclear. It is one of President Jokowi’s intended legacies as he concludes his term in October. Not only does the project come with a substantial price tag, but it will also take at least 20 more years and several presidential terms to complete the construction and facilitate the relocation of all central government employees.
Furthermore, President Jokowi envisions that the city, named Nusantara, will be fully operational by 2045, coinciding with Indonesia’s 100th independence anniversary. The government is currently recruiting the initial batch of several hundred civil servants to begin work in Nusantara, focusing on the ongoing construction. President Jokowi aims to celebrate Independence Day on August 17, 2024, in the new capital, marking his last year in office.
Jakarta’s acting governor, Heru Budi Hartono, who was appointed by President Jokowi, unintentionally undermined the Nusantara project’s image by portraying it as a destination for underperforming civil servants. Heru stated that he would relocate non-performing employees from the Jakarta administration to the new capital unless they improved their performance. However, it should be noted that the Jakarta administration’s staff are not employed by the central government. Heru’s statement reflects the sentiments of many government workers regarding Nusantara, where being sent there implies a bleak future.
President Jokowi has spared no effort in pushing forward with his plan to relocate the capital. He argues that Jakarta is sinking rapidly due to overpopulation, making it susceptible to frequent flooding. Additionally, he believes that moving the government’s seat to East Kalimantan would address the criticism that the administration is overly focused on Java, neglecting the eastern part of the country. It is undeniable that the western part of Indonesia is more developed than the east.
President Jokowi initiated the capital relocation project in 2019, and the House of Representatives approved the IKN Law after five months of deliberation. However, the project experienced a delay of over two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and construction only commenced in 2022.
The repeal of the IKN Law hinges onthe outcome of the upcoming presidential and legislative elections. The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) has made the abandonment of the Nusantara capital project a key campaign promise. The party aims to repeal the IKN Law if it emerges victorious in the election. The PKS has formed a coalition with the NasDem Party and the Nation Awakening Party (PKB) and nominated former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan for president.
Anies Baswedan has been cautious about endorsing or opposing the project directly. He has stated that if elected, he would respect the law but has not ruled out the possibility of revising the project by bringing it back to the House for amendments. The PKB and NasDem have not focused on the capital relocation issue during their campaigns, as they had previously supported the endorsement and amendment of the IKN Law.
The popularity or opposition to the new capital project remains uncertain, as it is one of President Jokowi’s intended legacies as he concludes his term in October. The project is expected to take at least 20 more years to complete, and it comes with a significant cost. The government is currently recruiting civil servants to work in Nusantara, with the aim of celebrating Indonesia’s Independence Day in the new capital in 2024.
President Jokowi has argued that Jakarta’s sinking due to overpopulation and frequent flooding necessitates the relocation of the capital. He also sees the project as an opportunity to address the imbalance of development between the western and eastern parts of Indonesia, with the new capital located in East Kalimantan.
Overall, the fate of the Nusantara capital project will depend on the election results and the subsequent government’s stance on the project.
