The discourse on moving the National Capital had appeared before the era of President Joko Widodo’s leadership. But the discourse is only a concept without implementation. On January 18, 2022, the concept of moving the IKN was not just a mere discourse, but the government had ratified the Bill on the State Capital (IKN) into law by the Indonesian Parliament and the Government. Thus, Indonesia will have a new IKN replacing Jakarta.
Initially the idea of transferring the IKN was actually coined for the first time by President Soekarno on July 17, 1957. Soekarno chose Palangkaraya as the IKN on the grounds that Palangkaraya was in the middle of the Indonesian archipelago and its territory was wider. Soekarno also wanted to show the world that the Indonesian people were capable of building a modern IKN. Sukarno’s idea was never realized. On the other hand, President Soekarno actually designated Jakarta as an IKN based on Law Number 10 of 1964 dated June 22, 1964.
During the New Order era, in the 1990s there was also talk of moving the IKN to Jonggol, West Java. During the era of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the discourse on relocating IKN resurfaced due to traffic jams and flooding that hit Jakarta. There were three options that emerged at that time, namely to keep Jakarta as the IKN and the center of government by making improvements, Jakarta to remain as the IKN but the center of government was moved to another area and to build a new IKN.
The transfer of IKN was only seriously worked on by President Jokowi on April 29 2019, Jokowi decided to move IKN out of Java and included it in the 2022-2024 RPJMN. Of course, many are asking, what is the urgency of moving the National Capital. So moving the capital city is a policy that must be carried out.
Perlu diketahui pula bahwa pemindahan IKN memiliki aspek multidimensi bagi pemerataan ekonomi, geopolitik dan pertahanan keamanan negara, dan juga berkaitan dengan keamanan dari bencana alam seperti banjir yang menjadi langganan Jakarta setiap tahun.
First, 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 23,119 US Dollars. 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 2024. 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.
Second, IKN must encourage inclusive and equitable economic growth, including in Eastern Indonesia. So far, Jakarta and its surroundings are known as the center of everything (government, politics, culture and others). It is not surprising that the circulation of money in Jakarta reaches 70%, which covers only 664.01 km 2 or 0.0003% of the total land area of Indonesia. Meanwhile, the population is 10.56 million people or 3.9 percent of Indonesia’s total population of 270.20 million people. (2020 data).
This of course causes uneven development and inequality of welfare. Centralized development in Java Island, especially Jakarta. This condition is of course not good for Indonesia’s economic growth which is expected to be sustainable, regional potentials are not utilized optimally and do not support fairness between regions.
Therefore, there is a need for an IKN that can answer this challenge, namely a world-class city for all Indonesian people. The IKN located in Kalimantan is expected to become 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.
Third, the objective condition of Jakarta is that it is no longer suitable as an IKN. This can be seen from the “burden” that must be borne by Jakarta, such as population density, traffic jams which are a daily sight as well as acute environmental and geological problems, including the floods that hit Jakarta every year and land subsidence which has resulted in parts of Jakarta is below sea level.
Of course, relocating IKN from Jakarta to East Kalimantan will not be without its pros and cons. However, as a democratic country, when the State decides to move IKN through a democratic process through a law, all components of the nation should provide their support. The Indonesian nation needs to minimize the excess transfer of IKN. There is no single decision that satisfies all the people, but decisions that provide greater benefits to the Indonesian people must have the support of Indonesian citizens as a form of love and devotion for the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.
National Development must continue to be echoed for the progress of the Indonesian nation, the transfer of IKN is the right decision so that Indonesia can continue to develop both economically and in an even distribution of development.
