Nusantara, the future capital city of Indonesia, will be inaugurated on the country’s Independence Day on Saturday, as the country looks to replace Jakarta, which has served as the capital since Indonesia declared independence from the Dutch in 1945.
A heaving metropolis of at least 11 million residents, Jakarta is plagued by some of the world’s worst traffic jams, thick smog and overcrowding.
It is also reportedly sinking due to unregulated groundwater extraction, and Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency has warned that by 2050, about 25 percent of the city could be submerged.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, first announced his surprise plan to move the capital to the jungles of East Kalimantan on the Indonesian part of Borneo island during his annual address to the nation on August 16, 2019.
“A capital city is not just a symbol of national identity, but also a representation of the progress of the nation,” Jokowi said. “This is for the realisation of economic equality and justice.”
But some have questioned the grandiose project, known as Ibu Kota Negara or IKN, from the outset.
Ian Wilson, a lecturer in politics and security studies at Australia’s Murdoch University, told Al Jazeera that the project reflected the defining features of the Jokowi administration.
“Firstly, an increasingly autocratic government divorced from popular sovereignty, considering that IKN will be physically distant from the vibrant civil society that has been fundamental to the country’s democratic consolidation,” he said.
“It will disentangle the nation’s executive from the complexities and contradictions of Jakarta, reflective of those of the country, as well as expressions of popular sovereignty and agency, such as rallies, protests and mobilisations, that have been important forms of check and balance on power.”
