By: Aditya Akbar)*
The plan to relocate the State Capital is certainly not planned without a purpose, apart from for the sake of equity, the relocation of the state capital (IKN) to East Kalimantan is also considered to be able to minimize state threats.
Head of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), Budi Gunawan, stated that the National Capital City (IKN) which was about to be moved from Jakarta to Penajam Paser Utara, East Kalimantan would be able to minimize potential threats to the state. Budi said the de facto conquest of a country was marked by success in occupying strategic facilities, including IKN.
In his written statement, Budi said the de facto conquest of the state was marked by success in occupying strategic facilities, including the nation’s capital, as a symbol of the collapse of the state system. The separation of the national capital from other cities will minimize the threat to the state.
Budi also stated that the transfer of IKN was important in order to encourage new economic growth magnets that could contribute nationally. Budi said that the transfer of IKN was not only a matter of relocating government office buildings, employees or physical development.
The transfer of IKN to East Kalimantan also has the potential to stimulate more equitable economic growth outside Java. To realize these goals, of course, need connectivity between regions and strong linkages between sectors.
Previously, Jokowi said that IKN Nusantara would serve as an example of Indonesia’s progress and transformation on various fronts. Jokowi also admitted that he wanted to show IKN as an example of the transformation of a country both in terms of the environment, working methods, economic base and technology. Meanwhile, in terms of improving the quality of health and education, as well as social order that is tolerant and upholds public ethics.
President Jokowi also said that the IKN development program in East Kalimantan is an important part of this process, IKN Nusantara will be used as a showcase of transformation.
Previously, the Minister of Defense (Menhan) Prabowo Subianto had given full support so that President Jokowi dared to move the State Capital (IKN) to East Kalimantan. According to Prabowo, the transfer of IKN to East Kalimantan is a strategic step and it must be done in order to immediately separate the center of government from the center of the country’s economy.
Prabowo assessed that the transfer of the State Capital to East Kalimantan had gone through careful consideration and study so that this move should have been implemented.
On the previous occasion, the Head of the Center for Political and Security Studies, Padjadjaran University, Muradi assessed that the potential defense threat in East Kalimantan as the New Capital City is smaller because the area is more closed than Java.
Although the potential threat is small, Muradi also reminded that the government must continue to develop defense forces. The consideration is because East Kalimantan is geographically close to neighboring countries such as Malaysia to the Philippines.
Muradi also assessed that the depth of the sea in the Makassar Strait was another reason for the decrease in potential defense threats if the IKN location was in East Kalimantan. He said the depth of the sea could make submarines to modern and large warships close to the capital city.
He added that the relocation of the capital city will automatically have an impact on the relocation of the TNI and Polri Headquarters. However, he said the move would not affect coordination in the event of a threat. According to him, coordination will not be disturbed because of communication technology. In addition, there are already units spread across Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Expert Staff to the Minister of National Development Planning for Development of Leading Sector and Infrastructure, Velix Vernando Wanggai, said that the Special Committee for the IKN Bill determined that the realization of IKN transfers would begin in the first semester of 2024. According to him, the government targets the IKN transfer process to be completed in its entirety in 2045. This target is in accordance with the designed master plan.
According to Velix, the total land area planned for IKN is 3 times larger than the DKI Jakarta area.
The transfer of IKN from Jakarta to Kalimantan is a big event that is expected to be able to make Indonesia more advanced, in addition to minimizing potential threats, the transfer of IKN is also a form of Indonesia-centric development.
)* The author is a contributor to Pertiwi Institute
