Indonesia's President formally proposed moving its capital

Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo formally proposed to the parliament a plan to relocate Indonesia’s capital from Jakarta to Kalimantan on the island of Borneo on 16 August, a day before the largest nation in Southeast Asia celebrates its 74th independence anniversary. While the exact location of the proposed new capital has yet to be announced, 3 provinces had been shortlisted - Central, East and South Kalimantan.

"I hereby request your permission to move our national capital to Kalimantan" - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo

As mentioned by the Head of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), Bambang Brodjonegoro, the new capital needs to fulfill a few criteria:

1. It has to be in the center of Indonesia to ensure a sense of fairness.

2. It should not be prone to natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and floods.

3. It should be government-owned or owned by state-owned enterprises to reduce land acquisition costs.

4. It needs to be close to the coastline and be able to support fresh water pipelines, electricity and communication lines.

5. It cannot be near any international borders.

This is not the first time this idea had been mooted - even the first president of the nation, Sukarno, had thought of moving the capital away from Jakarta, though it never came into fruition. Perhaps President Widodo will be the one to fulfil this complicated and monumental project but before we speculate further or get too deep into the details of the move, let’s find out why Indonesia is seriously considering moving its capital in the first place.

A sinking capital

Named the fastest sinking city in the world, Jakarta has been sinking between 1-15 cm per year, with North Jakarta experiencing the worst situation as parts of the area have sunk about 25cm a year. It had been estimated that should the situation remain at its current state, 95% of coastal Jakarta will be entirely submerged by 2050.

While many may assume that this is all due to climate change and the resulting melting of polar ice caps, it is not that simple - it is also an issue of governance & policy making and locals trying to make ends meet. Water is a source of living for all but the Jakarta government is not providing clean water for large parts of the city and hence, many have turned to pumping out groundwater to be used for their daily activities. However, as groundwater is being pumped out, the ground above it sinks as rocks and sediments compact. This process is known as subsidence and is widely agreed as the main reason for the continuous sinking of the Indonesian capital. This has resulted in frequent severe flooding, affecting the lives of locals as many struggle to cope with the damages done to their homes and businesses.

As for the government, this constant flooding and the threat of having the whole city underwater has naturally forced it to consider moving away. Putting the issue of solving the problem aside, to the leader of Indonesia, perhaps this is the best idea - after all, the capital is not just where the government sits, it is also the symbol of the nation and should it fall as a result of the impending flooding, it will definitely hit the nation hard, both its reputation and its economy.

Promoting equitable development

Java is the centre of economic activity for Indonesia, with 60% of its population residing in the island. Hence, it has resulted in inequitable development for the nation for many years as money poured into Java while other regions, especially those further east, experience slower growth as compared to Java. With the move of the capital away from Java, it is hoped that this will boost economic development in other parts of Indonesia and by placing it in a more geographically central position (that is - Kalimantan), more regions will experience greater and faster economic development. This was also part of Widodo’s pledge during his campaign for the Presidential elections just months prior.

"A capital city is not just a symbol of national identity, but also a representation of the progress of the nation. This is for the realisation of economic equality and justice"- President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo

Congestion and overpopulation

Jakarta is also overpopulated and very congested. With a land size of 661.5 square kilometers and a population of over 10 million people, the population density of the city stands at around 14 464 people per square kilometer, which is twice that of Singapore. As a result, traffic congestion is very common in the city and it has been estimated by Brodjonegoro that this has cost the city 100 trillion rupiah (S$9.7 billion) annually. Hence, moving the capital away could also divert people out of the capital to other parts of Indonesia to curb this issue as the population of Jakarta continues to grow.

(Cover photo by Ekoherwantoro)

By Eugene Goh