By: Raditya Rahman )*
The government continues to accelerate the realization of the relocation of the State Capital (IKN) to Kalimantan. The relocation of IKN to the new area gives a lot of hope, including the distribution of welfare.
The relocation of the capital city has begun to show a bright spot, the Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani ensured that the State Capital Development budget (IKN) was included in the 2022 State Budget. He assessed that the construction of the new capital had important values for Indonesia. One of them is equitable development.
In the virtual meeting opportunity, he said that the relocation of the national capital is a future Indonesia need with high mobility, changing demographics and the need for a sustainable environment.
He continued, the development of new IKN in East Kalimantan (Kaltim) can be done with various innovative schemes or not only relying on state finances or the state budget.
He explained that his party will continue to maintain and oversee it at a rational and reasonable level so that it is a medium and long term need for development needs, national economic recovery, and fiscal consolidation.
He added that the relocation of the capital city is important because it reflects the need for equitable development, non-Javanese and non-Jakarta-centric. This is an effort to reorient the distribution of development and economic transformation.
In addition, it is also for the sake of a balance between the ideals of national progress, prudence and the ability to support state finances.
The financing support and risk mitigation of the relocation of the capital is through the state revenue and expenditure budget (APBN), government-business cooperation schemes, private empowerment and assignment of state-owned enterprises.
Previously, the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, agreed to remain focused on building infrastructure in various parts of the country as in the previous period. The number one person in Indonesia believes that the availability of infrastructure will accelerate economic expansion.
However, there are some infrastructure works that are experiencing temporary delays. This is because the Covid-19 pandemic has attacked Indonesia since March 2020. One of the things that has been postponed is the construction of the State Capital (IKN).
As a result of the pandemic, the government then refocused and reallocated the budget with priority on handling the impact of Covid-19. Equitable energy policy remains a major concern. Where every Indonesian people have equal access to energy.
It should also be noted that the condition of Jakarta as the capital city is no longer ideal with a variety of unresolved problems such as congestion and flooding.
He also stated that this condition should not be the reason for moving the capital city, in fact it should be addressed first.
On the other hand, economist Fadhil Hasan said that within 100 years, at least 30 countries in the world have moved their capital cities, so this project is actually a common thing.
In this case, Fadhil asked the government to conduct a serious study of the factors causing the failure to relocate capital cities in other countries.
Fadhil said that Indonesia currently does not have the economic and financial capacity to finance the construction of a new capital city.
On a different occasion, on a different occasion, the Director of Urban, Housing and Settlements of the Ministry of National Development Planning Tri Dewi Virgiyanti explained, Smart City in the new capital city will make everything easier, controlled and open to the public.
Virgiyanti gave an example. The existence of mass rapid transit (mrt) and buses in the new capital can be seen whether the vehicle has a problem, where the vehicle is located, so that the number of passengers who board can be recorded, this is of course one of the applications of smart mobility that can be accessed by the public.
Meanwhile, a different view came from the Minister of National Development Planning/Head of Bappenas for the 2014-2015 period Andrinof Chaniago. Andrinof supports the government’s move to move the capital city from Jakarta to East Kalimantan.
Andrinof explained that the reason for moving the capital was not merely to be hot or worried about the condition of Jakarta, but to save the island of Java.
He considered that the island of Java was inhabited by 60 percent of Indonesia’s population, but its area was only 7 percent, a comparison which of course was not adequate.
Andrinof also predicts that by 2060 the population in Java will likely increase by 2 times from the current figure or around 300 million with a land area of only 7 percent.
Therefore, relocating the capital city can save Java Island, especially agricultural land which is known to be fertile. Thus reducing the possibility of using fertile land for development.
The existence of this agricultural land must also be saved, because the need for food is increasing. In addition, Andrinof also believes that the relocation of the capital city will create equality between regions.
So that the relocation of the capital city of course supports the acceleration of equitable distribution of welfare.
)* The author is a contributor to the Pertiwi Institute
