REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Vice President Jusuf Kalla (JK) said the relocation of Indonesia’s capital from Jakarta to East Kalimantan is different and cannot be equated with Malaysia. He stressed, in Malaysia, only the administrative centre that moved from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya.

“Malaysia only moved its administrative centre to Putrajaya which is 20 kilometers from Kuala Lumpur and the others remain in that city. So, it cannot be compared, because it’s so different than Indonesia,” said JK on Tuesday.

JK also said, Indonesia can be compared with Malaysia if the capital city is moved to Jonggol, West Java. He emphasized, the new capital is in East Kalimantan, so everything must be new.

Not only the issue of distance, JK said the relocation of administrative centre in Malaysia was also relatively not as complicated as Indonesia. He explained Malaysia only has 14 ministries that transferred to Putrajaya. Meanwhile, Indonesia has 34 ministries and it does not include non-ministerial government agencies.

“So Malaysia is very simple, the state palace is still in Kuala Lumpur, also House of Representatives, soldiers, and police, so only ministries that moved to Putrajaya,” JK added.

JK said all ministries in Indonesia must move to a new capital to support optimal governance processes in one place. There are also 180 thousand civil apparatus (ASN) that will be moved to East Kalimantan.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) officially announced Penajam Paser Utara and Kutai Kertanegara in East Kalimantan as Indonesia’s new capital on Monday. He said government has reviewed a number of prospect areas in Borneo. He explained East Kalimantan is chosen because the areas in its province fulfill the criterias needed.

Among the criterias are minimal disaster risk, strategic location in the middle of Indonesia, and third is close to urban cities that have developed, namely Balikpapan and Samarinda. Both of the cities are the largest in Kalimantan and also have airports.

Jokowi also explained that the areas have complete infrastructure. There is also 180 thousand hectares available area that owned by the government.

According to National Development Planning Board (Bappenas), the construction of the new Indonesia’s capital will begin in 2021. Meanwhile, the construction of government building there is targeted to be completed in 2024.

In addition, the high concentration of urbanization in Jakarta, also congestion and unhealthy air quality, annual flooding to land subsidence and rising sea levels became the considerations to move country’s capital. The relocation is expected to realize equitable welfare in the future.

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