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Jokowi’s successor may stall Nusantara city plan
It is not impossible that Jokowi will seize the opportunity of the constitutional amendment to extend his term of office to give him more time to see to the new capital’s development.
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A computer-generated image of one possible plan for the new presidential palace in Nusantara, East Kalimantan. (AFP/Handout)
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senior European diplomat asked me on Wednesday about the prospects of Indonesia’s bid to relocate its capital city, one day after the House of Representatives had passed the bill providing for the transition.
The diplomat looked anxious and wanted to get a clear picture of the plan because, like many other foreign missions in Jakarta, his government would have to relocate its embassy if the President moved the seat of government.
Jokowi announced on Wednesday that the Presidential Palace would be moved to the new capital city, Nusantara, in East Kalimantan, before he ended his second term in 2024, as would the Home Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry and the State Secretariat. The whole relocation process, he said, would be completed by 2045.
Before talking further about Nusantara’s development, I should make it clear that I support the President’s plan. My only reservation is about the timing.
In 2019, I had no doubt that he could realize his dream of relocating the capital as part of his legacy to the nation. But after COVID-19 struck early in 2020 and devastated our economy, I started to question the plan, even as palm oil and coal exports came to the rescue.
As a result of the health crisis, Jokowi has lost two years of preparation for the capital relocation project. I am afraid the project will stall as soon as he leaves office and that this part of his legacy will turn into something of a political joke.
What should Jokowi do to make sure his successor does not stop or revise the new capital city?
