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Jokowi, Prabowo to celebrate Independence Day in Nusantara, their VPs in Jakarta
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President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo (center) inspects the venue to be used for the celebration of Indonesia's 79th Independence Day in the future capital city of Nusantara in Penajam Paser Utara, East Kalimantan, on June 5, 2024. (AFP/Presidential Palace)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his successor Prabowo Subianto will celebrate Independence Day in the city of Nusantara in August, in a ceremony during which the outgoing leader is also expected to inaugurate the new capital city.
Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, meanwhile, will lead the Independence Day ceremony in Jakarta, which will lose its status as the nation's capital once the seat of the government moves to Nusantara, located some 1,200 kilometers away in the middle of a forest in East Kalimantan. Ma’ruf will be accompanied by VP-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Jokowi’s eldest son.
The news about the parallel celebrations broke after a meeting between Jokowi and his ministers at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Monday.
“The President will lead [the ceremony] in Nusantara, while the Vice President [will preside over the event] in Jakarta,” Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy said after the meeting, as quoted by tempo.co. “The president-elect will accompany Jokowi, while the VP-elect will accompany Ma’ruf.”
Read also: Jokowi plans to move to Nusantara in July amid doubts
The outgoing President's legacy project of moving the country’s capital from traffic-clogged and sinking Jakarta has been hampered by a lack of foreign investment, land ownership issues and delays.
Jokowi has been scrambling to reassure investors and bureaucrats about his $32 billion new capital city, after the surprise resignation of two officials overseeing the plan last week raised fresh doubts about its future.
The President, who will end his tenure in October, announced on Wednesday that he would start working from Nusantara in July once clean water was available in government buildings, in what analysts described as an apparent damage control effort.
Read also: Jokowi looks to steady IKN Authority ship, claims big investment coming
Earlier last week, Bambang Susantono and Dhony Rahajoe resigned from their posts as head and deputy head, respectively, of the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) Authority. Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono is now serving as interim head of the IKN Authority.
Thousands of civil servants are expected to move to the city in September to begin work, but the move has already been delayed by several months due to slow construction. (ipa)
