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Analysis: Jakarta Law revised, but capital city relocation still uncertain
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People gather in the park of the National Monument (Monas) in Jakarta on Aug. 6, 2023. Jakarta will soon lose its status as Indonesia's capital city with the planned move to Nusantara. (AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba)
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mid the campaign session in the runup to the regional head elections on Nov. 27 and the final phase of capital city relocation from Jakarta to the future Capital City of Nusantara (IKN), the government and the House of Representatives agreed to revise the Jakarta Special Region (DKJ) Law. The amendment is the first legislation the current House has produced since it began its five-year term on Oct. 1.
It took the lawmakers only six days to approve several new provisions of the DKJ Law, which only concerned technical aspects of the provincial governance following the passage of the law in April of this year.
The adjustment to the Jakarta law was minor but deemed as necessary due to the government’s plan to move the capital city to Nusantara in East Kalimantan, which was formalized under IKN Law No. 3/2022.
Among the changes made to the DKJ Law is the regional affiliation of the members of the House of Representatives, Regional Representatives Council (DPD) and Provincial Legislative Council (DPRD) resulting from the Feb. 14 elections, which has now changed from Special Capital City Region (DKI) Jakarta to DKJ.
The Jakarta regional heads elected in the Nov. 27 election will also be formally called the governor and deputy governor of DKJ, instead of DKI. Similar changes will also happen to the names of electoral districts across Jakarta. For the election of House members, DKJ is divided into three electoral districts while for provincial legislative council members it is split into 10 electoral districts.
The changes, although not substantial, are important in order to provide legal certainty regarding the status of the DKJ province as the de facto capital city before it is eventually relocated to Nusantara. The relocation schedule has been hanging in the balance after former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, the initiator of the program, failed to sign a decree that would effectively move the capital city to East Kalimantan.
Nevertheless, President Prabowo Subianto seems to need more time to formally relocate the capital city as he is now focusing on signature programs to realize his campaign promises, such as the free meals program and food estate, which all require enormous budgets.
