Transfer of the Capital of the Nation, a Form of the Spirit of Building the Nation

By: Ananda Rasti *

The Discourse on the Transfer of the Capital seems to be a serious matter. Although the Government has not yet determined a definite place to be built as a new capital, at this stage there are 3 places that have been considered, namely eastern Sumatra, Kalimantan and southern Sulawesi.

In response to the discourse on the transfer of the Capital City, of course we must understand that the transfer of the Capital City is also carried out by several countries in the world, including in Southeast Asia. As in Myanmar, where previously the capital city in Yangon was later transferred to Naypyidaw, located in the middle of Myanmar, this enabled the Myanmar Government to control areas far better.

Speaker of the House Bambang Soesatyo, gave support to the government related to the plan to move the Capital City. Bambang hopes that this policy can improve the Indonesian economy.

“The most important thing is that the transfer benefits the wider community and escalates our economy so that it is not centralized,” Bambang said.

He also reminded the government to involve all parties in reviewing the capital’s transfer policy. If the study is carried out in depth, he believes that the transfer of the capital city can provide benefits to the community.

“Because various countries also do that successfully like Malaysia, for example and in my opinion it is possible,” said Bambang.

Previously Jokowi had visited the Soeharto Hill area in Kutai Kertanegara Regency, East Kalimantan, becoming one of the locations for prospective new capitals.

Jokowi said that the Bukit Soeharto area had a number of advantages. Among them are the complete supporting infrastructure that has been available around the area.

Jokowi’s Quick Steps

In an effort to move the capital city, Jokowi’s rapid steps began with the holding of a Limited Meeting (RATAS) regarding the transfer of the Capital City at the Presidential Palace on April 29, 2019.

In the meeting, Jokowi asked the Head of Bappenas, Bambang Brodjonegoro to present the results of his institution’s study regarding the transfer of the Capital City.

First, the capital city remains in Jakarta but the area around the Palace and Monas is made specifically for government offices, ministries and institutions so that all government areas are in one place and that creates efficiency in the government’s coordination task.

Secondly, the government center moved outside Jakarta, but still within a radius of around 50 – 70 km from Jakarta.

Whereas the third alternative is to move the capital city outside Java, especially towards eastern Indonesia.

In the meeting, Jokowi then decided to choose the third alternative. The President wants the location of the new capital to be in the middle of the territory of Indonesia.

“In the meeting it was decided, the President chose the third alternative, which was to move the capital city out of Java. This is perhaps one of the important decisions that were born today, “Bambang said.

Bambang also explained that Jokowi’s decision was taken by considering that Indonesia was not Central Java. It is expected that economic growth will be evenly distributed in each region.

In the limited meeting, the plan to relocate the capital would cost around Rp. 323 trillion to Rp. 466 trillion. However, the government will involve state-owned enterprises and the private sector and ensure that the transfer of the capital city is not too burdensome to the state budget.

Furthermore, President Jokowi held an iftar with the leaders of state institutions. In his remarks, Jokowi mentioned the government’s plan to move the Capital City outside Java.

On that occasion, the former mayor of Solo said that since 3 years ago the discourse of moving the capital city had been discussed in the internal scope of the government. Then in the past 1.5 he had asked Bappenas to conduct studies from various sides, such as economics, social, politics and environment.

The results of the study stated that Jakarta and Java Island were considered not ideal because of the problem of overcrowding to disaster-prone geographical areas.

The decision to move the capital city was not a sudden matter without a thorough study. It is fitting for the entire community to support the idea that has been discussed since the era of the 1st RI President Ir Soekarno, so that the country’s development can be evenly distributed and eliminate the Javanese impression.

* The author is an observer of social and political problems