By: Deka Prawira)*
The House of Representatives has stipulated the Draft Law (RUU) for the State Capital to become the IKN Law. The community supports the ratification because it will regulate the relocation of the national capital in a systematic, gradual, and smooth manner.
Jakarta has been the capital city of Indonesia since 1945 and during the old order there was a discourse to move the capital city to Palangkaraya, Kalimantan. Bung Karno’s reason as president at that time was for justice, because he was in the middle. This discourse will be continued because the capital will be moved to Borneo but not in Palangkaraya, but in Penajam Paser Utara, East Kalimantan.
Moving the nation’s capital city is a huge project because it can’t be completed in just a few months. The process is long and lengthy because there are so many things to take care of, starting from the preparation stage, making legal regulations, to adjustments. The reason is that government employees will also move to Borneo.
To expedite the relocation of the national capital, the IKN (state capital) Law was made, as well as a strong legal umbrella. The Head/Minister of the National Development Planning Agency, Suharso Monoarfa, stated that there are stages of moving the state capital in the IKN Law.
Suharso added that the stages were carried out because the transfer was not a sangkuriang project that would be completed in an instant. However, there is a very long process, and the details are: in 2022, 2024, and so on until 2045, the on-board alias has actually moved the capital city from Jakarta to Penajam Paser Utara.
In a sense, the government is very serious about moving the capital city of Indonesia to Kalimantan. The reason is that Jakarta is already very crowded, both by native Betawi people and immigrants. If left unchecked, it will be very dangerous because it can cause many social problems, for example an increase in criminal cases due to income inequality and overcrowding.
The relocation of the national capital must be done in stages, slow but sure. It is impossible to finish it in just 1-2 years, because in Penajam Paser Utara it must be prepared to become the capital city. Is the condition of the land there ready to be made the capital city? Don’t forget the fact that the soil structure in Kalimantan is different from that in Java, so if there is a need for improvement.
Improvements in North Penajam Paser also need to be made, so that later in 2045 the place is truly ready to become the nation’s capital. Improvements were made mainly to the infrastructure so that later the mobility of the President and other officials, as well as civil servants there, would be facilitated.
After the infrastructure is fixed, a new building will be built as an official government office. The existence of a new presidential palace in Kalimantan must of course be up to standard and its construction must be perfect, because in the future the country’s leader may also make it his residence. The design has indeed been completed and hopefully the results will be 100% perfect.
Meanwhile, a member of the working committee for the State Capital Law, TB Hasanudin, stated that there must be clarity on the status of the area that will later become the state capital. In a sense, later in Penajam Paser Utara, will the status be a special area, a special area for the capital, or something else. So it is hoped that the IKN Law will add articles regarding this, so that it is not confused.
The community supports the existence of the IKN Law because it will clarify the stages of moving the state capital from Jakarta to North Penajam Paser, East Kalimantan. If there is a legal umbrella then it will be legally strong and not ambiguous. In addition, articles in this law can be added to complete the stages of moving the capital city of Indonesia to Kalimantan.
)* The author is a contributor to the Press Circle and Cikini Students
