Complete Collaboration Prerequisite for IKN Nusantara
The success in developing Nusantara as the nation’s new capital city weighs not only on the government’s elites, but also on the nation as a whole, especially in mobilizing public participation.
By
Kompas Team
·5 minutes read
TANGKAPAN LAYAR YOUTUBE SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN
President Joko Widodo (left) together with West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil pour soil and water into a pitcher symbolically for the construction of the National Capital of the Archipelago in North Penajam Paser Regency, East Kalimantan, Monday (14/3/2022)..
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo held a series of activities at the zero-kilometer point of the site for the nation’s future Nusantara Capital City (IKN), marking it with a message on Indonesia's diversity and a call for the nation’s collective collaboration in order to achieve the goal. President Jokowi emphasized the importance of collaboration for the nation’s capital city relocation project to succeed. Collaboration is not limited to the elite level, but accommodative to public voices.
The President's activities began with the pooling of the soil and water brought in from all provinces across the country at the zero-kilometer site at Penajam Paser Utara, East Kalimantan, on Monday (14/3/2022). Procured from historical locations in each province, the soil and water were handed over by the governors or their representative to the President, starting with Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and ending with East Kalimantan Governor Isran Noor. The president then poured the soil and water into a copper jug called Kendi Nusantara.
"Today, Monday, March 14, 2022, we are here together in the context of [realizing] great ideals and work that we will soon begin – that is the development of Nusantara City," said President Jokowi in his speech.
The President gave his appreciation to province leaders for extending the soil and water from their regions. "This symbolizes our diversity and the strong bond between us in building the capital city of Nusantara," said the President.
Six of 34 governors failed to attend the ceremony for health reasons. They were represented either by deputy governors or assistant secretaries. Also present at the event were People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Bambang Soesatyo, a number of Cabinet ministers, head of the IKN Nusantara Authority Bambang Susantono and deputy Dhony Rahajoe, as well as 15 local community leaders.
BIRO PERS SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN/MUCHLIS JR
President Joko Widodo meets with traditional leaders in North Penajam Paser Regency, East Kalimantan Province, Monday (14/3/2022)..
After the soil and water had been put in the jug, the President and regional leaders bedded plants together at the zero-point location. The plants were typical of the respective provinces.
Jokowi also held an audition for 15 local community leaders before visiting a plant seeding plot in Mentawir village, Sepaku district, Penajam Paser Utara. The plant seedlings would be used to rehabilitate the forests in the capital city area. The President and his entourage spent the night in a camp at the zero point.
Bambang Soesatyo pointed out the need to ensure the capital relocation project is carried over beyond President Jokowi’s office term, which ends in 2024. "IKN development should not stall," he said.
To safeguard the relocation project, the MPR is currently drafting the overarching laws called the Guidelines of State Policy (PPHN), to ensure the sustainability of the new capital city development. A provisional study administers the PPHN should be formed through the legal umbrella of the MPR decree, which will require a mandatory limited amendment to the 1945 Constitution.
Isran Noor believed the choice of East Kalimantan to house the new capital city, while provoking pride among the local people, would lead to more extensive equitable and just development in Indonesia.
Anies Baswedan viewed the nation’s capital relocation as an opportunity for Jakarta to accelerate development further into a global city.
TANGKAPAN LAYAR KANAL YOUTUBE SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN
President Joko Widodo with governors and community leaders at the procession of unification of the archipelago's land and water in the zero kilometer area of the Nusantara Capital, North Penajam Paser Regency, East Kalimantan Province, Monday (14/3/2022).
Legitimacy
Yet Mardyanto Wahyu Tryatmoko, a researcher on regional autonomy at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), cautioned about the many lingering issues in the capital city development, ranging from land status and environmental management to the form of the capital city administration.
He saw that failure to address these issues would lead to a drawback in public policy, which could taint public legitimacy. He said the need for legitimacy could not rely simply on the commitment of regional heads. "So, don't forget that collaboration includes community’s participation, support and so on," he said.
The Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) deputy secretary Erasmus Cahyadi demanded clarity over local people’s involvement given the fact that the capital city site, while being the former location of land concessionaires, was also the living space of the local people for generations. He said there were at least 21 groups of customary communities. “In the case of negotiation in relation to the capital city, who will negotiate? Is it the company or the indigenous people who own the land?” he queried.
So, don't forget that collaboration includes community’s participation, support and so on.
Another problem is the overlapping claims of land concession permits, which is prone to causing agrarian conflicts. The Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA) has reported around 30 agrarian conflicts in the last five years over an area of 64,000 hectares in East Kalimantan.
Presidential expert staff member Usep Setiawan said his office had asked the Agrarian Affairs and the Spatial Planning Ministry/National Land Agency to identify and verify the status of the land in the new capital city as an anticipatory move against land problems.
During the audition discussion session with the President, East Kalimantan’s customary leaders expressed their hopes that the capital city development program would not only focus on infrastructure construction but also human resources development. (CIP/IDO/CAS/HLN/JUM/IKI/COK/BOW)
