By: Fabian Aditya Pratama )*
The Archipelago National Capital Project (IKN) carried out by the government in the era of President Joko Widodo is an effort to realize an even distribution of development to all corners of the archipelago.
January 18, 2022, is a historic day for the Indonesian nation when the Bill on IKN was passed into law by the Indonesian Parliament and the Government. Thus, Indonesia will have a new IKN replacing Jakarta.
The idea of transferring the IKN was first coined by President Soekarno on July 17, 1957 and chose Palangkaraya as the IKN, on the grounds that Palangkaraya is in the middle of the Indonesian archipelago and has a large area. Soekarno also wanted to show the world that the Indonesian people were capable of building a modern IKN. Sukarno’s idea was never realized. Instead, President Soekarno established Jakarta as Indonesia’s IKN by Law Number 10 of 1964 dated June 22, 1964.
However, from all the ideas regarding the transfer of the national capital that were initiated by previous presidents up to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), it is clear that the transfer of the new IKN was seriously carried out and worked on during the leadership era of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi). This seriousness has even been seen since 2019, at which time President Jokowi decided to move the IKN so that it could be outside Java Island by including it in the RJMN for 2020 to 2024.
There is some urgency behind the government’s plan to move IKN from Jakarta to East Kalimantan (Kaltim), one of which is to be able to face future challenges, which are in accordance with Indonesia’s vision in 2045, namely to welcome an advanced Indonesia, so that the economy is targeted to be able to enter the top 5 (five) in the world in 2045.
Then, the second urgency of the transfer of this IKN is as a form of the government’s efforts to be able to continue to encourage inclusive and equitable economic growth, including in Eastern Indonesia. The reason is, so far it cannot be denied that Jakarta and its surroundings continue to be known as the center of everything such as government, politics, industry, trade, investment, technology, culture and so on.
So it is clear that this has led to inequality of development and welfare in the country, because so far development has continued to occur and has been centralized only in Jakarta and Java Island. If this gap continues to occur, then of course it will not be good for economic growth in Indonesia which should be able to be sustainable.
National economic growth will be affected and unsustainable because the potential of other regions is not utilized optimally, so of course it does not support justice between regions and is also increasingly vulnerable to conflicts that threaten the unity and integrity of the nation.
Of course, with the construction of the National Archipelagic National Sciences which President Jokowi is seriously working on, many parties hope that this can be the start of an even distribution of development in Indonesia.
Chairman of the APEKSI Management Board, Bima Arya Sugiarto said that IKN is indeed a symbol of a modern city that is environmentally friendly, not only that but also sustainable and also inclusive. It will even be able to become a city for all. He also believes that the development of the Archipelago IKN is able to have an impact on the development of civilization in all regions in the country.
In fact, it’s not only about infrastructure that will be built evenly in all corners of Indonesia, but there will also be cultural development. The existence of this IKN will also inspire all regional heads in Indonesia to be able to achieve the same target as the IKN.
For a long time, this nation has really dreamed of having a development that is evenly distributed and not only concentrated in Palau Java or in one region, but able to spread throughout all regions of the archipelago. IKN is an extraordinary symbol to move Indonesia’s epicenter to Kalimantan. Apeksi believes its construction will have an impact on the surrounding areas on the island of Kalimantan.
He added that the development of the Archipelago IKN is expected to be inclusive, participatory, that is, it involves all. According to him, IKN is able to become a miniature symbol of Indonesia, IKN is also able to become a home for all and is able to become the pride of the Indonesian nation.
President Jokowi is very serious about initiating and starting to carry out equitable development in Indonesia. One of the concrete works he has done is through the construction of the National Archipelago National Park, which is a project to move the national capital from Jakarta to East Kalimantan.
)* The author is a contributor to Nawasena Institute