Eight of the nine factions in the House of Representatives approved the capital city bill’s passage into law. The ratification came only 43 days after the House had formed a special committee for the capital city bill.
By
IQBAL BASYARI, RINI KUSTIASIH
·4 minutes read
ALIF ICHWAN
Visitors see the winners of the new nation's capital design competition. The Nagara Rimba Nusa design won the new national capital (IKN) competition in East Kalimantan which was announced at the PUPR Office Auditorium, Jakarta, Monday (23/12/2019).
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The recent enactment of the Capital City Law will be followed by the preparation of a master plan as a guide for preparing, building and transferring the state’s capital city as well as administering the new capital city as a specially governed region.
While transparency and public oversight were needed in the preparation of the master plan, the capital city relocation plan provisional draft was approved for ratification into law only 43 days after the House first established the special deliberation committee on 7 Dec. 2021. At the plenary hearing in Jakarta on Tuesday (18/1/2022), eight of the nine factions in the House gave a nod, leaving only the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) in opposition.
The short-term discussion raised questions from a number of quarters as to how much the public had participated in the discussion of the bill.
Ahmad Doli Kurnia Tandjung, chairman of the special committee for the capital city bill, said its ratification had been a step forward in the relocation of the nation's capital. He said the relocation law would have to be followed by the preparation of a master plan, the details of which would be attached as inseparable provisions to the draft bill.
Further technical details would be laid out in a presidential regulation, and any change to the master plan would require consultation with the House, he said.
Agustin Teras Narang, a member of the Regional Representatives Council, noted that the master plan, as an integral part of the Capital City Law, had not been comprehensively discussed in a tripartite forum.
Djohermansyah Djohan, professor of public administration at the Institute of Domestic Administration, also cautioned that the preparation of the master plan would have to be carried out transparently. He said the government had to provide access to information on details and progress in planning to the public. Public supervision, he noted, was very important because the master plan, regulated through a presidential regulation, was vulnerable to deviations from the law.
In stages
The working committee of the capital city bill discussed five clusters of relocation issues in depth: the form of government, land, budgeting and financing, master plans and other relevant provisional articles.
"About 90 percent was no different from the government's initial draft. However, there were five clusters which were discussed in depth and agreed upon in the committee," working committee chair Saan Mustopa said.
National Development Planning Agency head Suharso Monoarfa said the capital city transfer and development of its replacement had been planned meticulously and that the construction would be carried out in stages so as not to burden the state budget.
According to the Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, the construction and relocation of the capital consisted of five stages, with the first stage from 2022 to 2024 and the second through fifth from 2025 to 2045.
Kompas/Hendra A Setyawan
Minister of National Development Planning/Head of Bappenas Suharso Monoarfa (left) and Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani attend a plenary meeting at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Tuesday (18/1/2022). The DPR ratifies the Draft Law on the State Capital into Law. Kompas/Hendra A Setyawan
She said the first stage would be very critical from the funding perspective, with the government having to identify the initial trigger that would generate further development momentum and create an anchor for the capital city relocation plan. Therefore, a detailed master plan would be made through a presidential regulation, she said.
With the government still dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, she said that the initial work of new capital city development plan would be incorporated into the national economic recovery policies.
While having yet to fully specify the Rp 450 trillion package for 2022, the economic recovery measures would also be used to help create momentum for the development of the new capital city while the funding for 2023 and 2024 would weigh on the pandemic situation.
Lack of public participation
The PKS Party, as stated by Suryadi Jaya Purnama, rejected the capital city plan draft, saying that it was not relevant amid the urgent need to improve the economic situation of the population.
The short duration of the discussion of the bill was also highlighted by elements of civil society. Fajri Nursyamsi, a researcher at the Center for Indonesian Law and Policy Studies, said that in such a short time, it was difficult to ensure that the discussion of the bill really accommodated public opinion.
"There were webinars and field visits, but they could not guarantee that public participation in the discussion of the bill was significant," he said.
