IKN Nusantara which is located in East Kalimantan is an effort by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia (RI) to really be able to realize equality from various sides, starting from an economic perspective, development to the distribution of the population in Indonesia so that it is no longer too centered on the island of Java.
Officially, Indonesia will soon have a new National Capital (IKN) to replace Jakarta, which is located in East Kalimantan. This has been officially stipulated since January 18 2022, which can also be said to be one of the historic days for this nation with the passage of the Draft Law (RUU) on IKN to become an Act (UU) by the People’s Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia (DPR RI ) and the Government.
In fact, there has been a lot of discourse on the transfer of IKN by Heads of State in Indonesia, even since the time of the first President of the Republic of Indonesia, IR Soekarno, but all of this has not really been realized.
The transfer of IKN was only seriously followed up by President Joko Widodo. On April 29 2019, President Jokowi decided to move the IKN outside Java and include it in the 2020-2024 RPJMN.
Seeing Jokowi’s long plan and fast moves to move the IKN above, it is necessary to understand the urgency of moving the IKN. One of them is, facing future challenges. In accordance with Indonesia’s 2045 Vision, namely Advanced Indonesia, Indonesia’s economy will enter the top 5 in the world in 2045. In that year, it is estimated that per capita GDP is US$ 23,119. In 2036, it is estimated that Indonesia will get out of the middle income trap. Therefore, economic transformation is needed to achieve Indonesia’s Vision 2045. Economic transformation is supported by downstream industries by utilizing human resources, infrastructure, simplification of regulations, and bureaucratic reform starting from 2020-2024. Therefore, IKN is needed that can support and encourage this economic transformation.
Then the second reason is that IKN is able to encourage inclusive and equitable economic growth, including even in Eastern Indonesia. The reason is, so far Jakarta and its surroundings have been very well known as the center of everything including government, politics, industry, trade, investment, technology, culture and so on.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the circulation of money in Jakarta can even reach up to 70 percent, even though the city actually only has an area of 664.01 square kilometers or around 0.003 percent of the total land area in Indonesia, which reaches 1,919,440 square kilometers.
Of course, with the extraordinary financial turnover in Jakarta, it has caused inequality in development and prosperity in the country. As a result, development occurred and was centralized only in Jakarta and Java Island. This condition is not good for Indonesia’s economic growth which is expected to be stable, because there is still no optimal utilization of the potential of other regions, so that it does not seem to support justice between regions and is even vulnerable to divisions in the unity and integrity of the nation.
Therefore, IKN is needed that can answer this challenge, namely a world-class city for all Indonesian people. The IKN located in Kalimantan is expected to be a new economic “center of gravity” in Indonesia, including in the central and eastern regions of Indonesia. The new IKN is expected to create new centers of economic growth and maximize the potential of regional resources.
Meanwhile, President Joko Widodo himself said that there was a main reason for the establishment of the National Archipelago National Park, namely so that there would be equality in all matters, including on the economic side, population to development in the country. The reason, according to him, is that for now all of these things still exist in Java with 58 percent of economic GDP and 56 percent of Indonesia’s population also in Java. Thus making the island of Java very dense and it is very necessary to have an even distribution of development that is no longer Java centric.
The President also emphasized that relocating the capital city is not just a physical relocation related to buildings or government buildings. Instead, the transfer of work culture and new mindsets is accompanied by well-prepared systems and human resources.
The President also believes that the IKN project will be completed in the next 15 to 20 years and that IKN will become a government city. Meanwhile, Jakarta, even though it is no longer the national capital, the President said Jakarta would still be improved and become a city of business, tourism and economy.
With this, it is indeed very important to achieve economic equality, development equality and even distribution of population in Indonesia. Therefore, the Government of Indonesia continues to make efforts to implement this, one of which is by carrying out the development and transfer of IKN to East Kalimantan.
)* The author is Angkasa Media One Contributor
