TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Jokowi lays symbolic foundation for new capital
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said the ceremony marked another milestone in the ambitious relocation project and represented a unification of the country at the site of Nusantara.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
President Joko "Jokowi” Widodo (center) pours water brought by Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan (right), as East Kalimantan Governor Isran Noor (third left) looks on, during a Kendi Nusantara ritual at the site for Indonesia's new capital city Nusantara in Sepaku district, North Penajam Paser, East Kalimantan, on Monday. As part of the ritual, President Jokowi collected soil and water from 34 provinces, which were brought by governors attending the ceremony. (Courtesy of Presidential Secretariat Press Bureau /Muchlis Jr. )
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, along with provincial leaders and several Cabinet ministers, gathered on Monday in North Penajam Paser regency, East Kalimantan, to partake in a symbolic ceremony to bless the development of the nation’s new capital Nusantara.
The ceremony was held at the Kilometer Zero site at the new capital, where each provincial governor or their representative took turns in adding soil and water, symbolizing the archipelago of Indonesia, to a gold-plated container.
Out of the 34 governors summoned to join the President in the ceremony, six were unable to attend, including Bali Governor I Wayan Koster and Papua Governor Lukas Enembe, sending their deputies in their stead.
Jokowi said Monday’s ceremony marked another milestone in the ambitious relocation project and represented a unification of the country at the site of Nusantara.
“We’re gathered here in the context of a great ambition and a major endeavor, that we will soon start the development of Nusantara,” he said.
Read also: Jokowi's dream of a new capital city takes a step closer to reality
The President said the unification of soil and water from all the provinces symbolized the archipelago’s diversity and unity.
