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House aims to pass capital city bill by early next year
The draft bill outlines Jokowi’s Rp 466 trillion (US$32.5 billion) project to relocate the nation’s capital to East Kalimantan, a move the President has said seeks to bring more equitable economic development across Indonesia.
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The preliminary design of a presidential palace to be constructed in the nation’s new capital city in East Kalimantan. (Courtesy of/State Secretariat)
T
he House of Representatives is aiming to pass a bill providing for the relocation of the nation’s capital to East Kalimantan by early next year, a lawmaker has said, a possible step forward in one of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s most ambitious governmental projects.
Lawmaker Ahmad Doli Kurnia, who chairs a special House committee on new capital city, said the deliberation of the bill would resume on Jan. 11, 2022, after a recess, kompas.com reported. He expected the deliberation stage to be complete by February.
Doli said he was confident that the discussions between the government and lawmakers would proceed smoothly, as both parties had agreed that the legislation should be passed as soon as possible. He noted that the House would gather public input on the bill during its deliberation.
“From a technical standpoint, there is not much to be discussed about the bill. But because this pertains to an important issue, we also need to hear the public’s aspirations,” said Doli, a member of the Golkar Party, as quoted by kompas.com.
The draft bill, which was submitted by National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) head Suharso Monoarfa in late September, outlines Jokowi’s Rp 466 trillion (US$32.5 billion) project to relocate the nation’s capital to East Kalimantan, a move the President has said seeks to bring more equitable economic development across Indonesia.
The draft bill also outlines the establishment of an authority to govern the new capital, whose leader the president will have the sole power to appoint. The provision has raised concerns about the democratic representation of residents of the new capital.
Read also: New capital bill leads critics to question people's diminishing rights
