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Many doubt, but Jokowi still confident in his new capital city ambitions
But with the elections in the horizon, many investors, at home and overseas, will naturally opt to wait until Indonesia chooses a new leader who is committed to realizing the capital relocation dream.
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President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo (left) and Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong give a joint news conference at the Istana in Singapore on March 16, 2023. (AFP/Edgar Su)
T
he meeting with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in the city state last Thursday was the latest stride in President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s global campaign to raise enough funding for his Nusantara capital city megaproject.
Honestly, I am doubtful about Jokowi’s ambition, but knowing his proven track record in infrastructure development, he may eventually be able to relocate the capital city from Jakarta, although at a slower pace than expected.
At home, one of his efforts to realize his Nusantara dream is by ensuring whoever will succeed him in October next year will continue the project. Of the three leading presidential candidates so far, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo can fulfill Jokowi’s hopes. The other potential nominee, former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, is unlikely to do so as he has built an image as the antithesis of Jokowi.
Nusantara, meaning “archipelago”, will cover North Penajam Paser regency and Kutai Kertanegara regency in East Kalimantan. Jokowi plans to celebrate Independence Day on Aug. 17, 2024, in the new capital. State institutions and governments, as well as their employees, will be relocated gradually, starting in 2024 with the defense, home and foreign ministries and the State Secretariat.
Until COVID-19 struck early in 2020, I fully believed Jokowi would be able to fulfill his quest to relocate the capital city before the end of his second and final five-year term in October 2024. His passion for infrastructure development was evident in massive development projects during his first term, including the 1,250 kilometers of new toll roads across Java and Sumatra.
When Jokowi revealed his capital city-relocation bid during the 2019 presidential election campaign, many people shared my confidence he could just do it. Many prominent scholars and foreign observers did not believe Jokowi could realize his dream, but they accepted Jokowi’s rationale for the relocation.
When the President officially proposed to relocate the capital to Kalimantan in his state of the union speech on Aug. 16, 2019, I believed he could deliver it. He also promised to table a draft law on the capital city development to the House of Representatives. The bill was passed into law last year.
