TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Friday said the construction of the new capital city of Nusantara represents the government’s goal to change and improve the mindset of serving the public. He also acknowledged it as a way to elevate Indonesia from the status of a developed nation.

"For more than 70 years, we have only been a developing country because we don't dare to change ourselves, change our human resources with new ways of working and work hard to change our mindset, that's what is needed," Jokowi said in Tabalong, South Kalimantan, Friday, March 17.

Jokowi said the competitiveness between countries is one of the main causes of Indonesia wishing to elevate into a developed nation as it affects the ability to attract investors.

He gave an example of Indonesia’s economic growth surpassing that of other countries during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Thank God for the economic growth in 2022, while other countries slumped, we can grow 5.3 percent. Other countries are still confused about solving Covid-19," Jokowi said.

Jokowi mentioned that one of the aims of developing the new capital city in Kalimantan was to spark evenly distributed economic growth. He said that of the 280 million Indonesian population, more than 150 million live on the island of Java.

M JULNIS FIRMANSYAH

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