JakartaGlobe-Dec 12
Presidential candidate Anies Baswedan said that he will not continue the development of Indonesia’s New Capital Nusantara (IKN) if he is elected. Anies’ statement comes as a response to a question from his rival Ganjar Pranowo about whether he agrees with the plan to relocate the capital from Jakarta to IKN in East Kalimantan.
“This is an example of legal products that do not involve public dialogue, so when the law is in place, anyone who criticizes it is considered opposition. While those who support it are considered pro-government. However, there has been no comprehensive discussion,” said Anies during the presidential debate on Tuesday. Anies also supports resolving ongoing issues in Jakarta, such as traffic jams and population density, before deciding to relocate the capital. According to Anies, the capital relocation will not automatically solve these two problems. Previously, Anies had criticized the IKN development project, which he argued would create new disparities. He expressed this during an open dialogue at Muhammadiyah University in Surakarta, Central Java, on November 22. Anies argued that the government’s rationale for building IKN in the forest could create new inequalities. “If you want to equalize Indonesia, then build small cities into medium-sized ones, medium-sized cities into large ones throughout Indonesia,” Anies emphasized. Read more at: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/anies-wants-to-discontinue-new-capital-nusantara-project
