ER
PRESIDENT Joko Widodo (Jokowi) emphasized that moving Indonesia’s capital city (IKN) to Kalimantan Island should no longer become a polemic since the decision was taken during the plenary session of the House of Representatives (DPR).
“In our political system, it is clear that the IKN Law (Law Number 3 of 2022 on the State Capital) has been approved by the DPR and eight factions out of the nine existing factions. This means that the political law is complete. It should not become a polemic anymore,” Jokowi stated on Tuesday, (2/22)
He added that the head of state acknowledged that the plan to move IKN from Jakarta to East Kalimantan had its pros and cons. This phenomenon commonly occurred, with the idea of a major change or transformation in a country.
“The IKN relocation aimed at equitable access to infrastructure, economic benefits, and social justice in Indonesia. This relocation is for equity in infrastructure, economy, and social justice,” Jokowi remarked.
The head of state also explained that currently, some 58% of Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP) comes from Java Island, mostly from Jakarta. In fact, there is an imbalance in economic activity and a gap between regions within and outside Java, especially since Indonesia has approximately 17 thousand islands.
“This is one of the reasons why moving the capital city has been initiated for a long time. In 1957, President Soekarno had a plan to relocate the capital city to Palangkaraya, but it was hampered by the political situation,” he noted.
President Jokowi concluded, the idea of relocating IKN had also been brought up during President Soeharto’s administration. Indonesia’s second president had planned to move the capital city to Jonggol, West Java Province. [antaranews]
