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.
President Jokowi in damage control over new capital
President Jokowi's announcement that he will start working next month from an office in Nusantara, a giant construction site over 1,200km (750 miles) from the current capital Jakarta, is unlikely to allay fears about his legacy project, analysts say.
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!
This handout picture taken and released on June 5, 2024 by the Presidential Palace shows President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo (center) inspecting the venue that will be used for the celebration of Indonesia's 79th Independence Day in the future capital city of Nusantara in Penajam Paser Utara, East Kalimantan. (AFP/Presidential Palace)
P
resident Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is rushing to reassure investors and bureaucrats about his $32 billion new capital city in a malaria-prone pocket of Kalimantan, after the resignations of two officials overseeing the plan raised fresh doubts about its future.
President Jokowi's announcement that he will start working next month from an office in Nusantara, a giant construction site over 1,200km (750 miles) from the current capital Jakarta, is unlikely to allay fears about his legacy project, analysts say.
"Investor confidence has dropped, I think. They were already in doubt and in 'wait-and-see' mode, partly because of the unclear land status, partly because of a lack of transparency in governance of the new capital," said Yanuar Nugroho, the president's former deputy chief of staff.
"The resignations worsen this… instead of explaining what really happened, the government is trying to cover it up," he said, describing the president as in damage control mode.
Travelling to Nusantara just a day after the two respected technocrats in charge resigned without explanation, the president broke ground on schools, office complexes and promised foreign investment was coming.
But years after the president announced his signature project, intended to ease the burden on the traffic-ridden, polluted, sinking and over-populated Jakarta, zero foreign funding has been committed.
A presidential spokesperson referred question regarding doubt on Nusantara's future to previous President Jokowi's comment saying the project will continue as plan.
