Plan to Move Indonesia's Capital; From Soekarno to Jokowi Era

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo officially decided to move the country’s capital city from Jakarta to an undecided location outside of the Java Island. This decision was taken after a limited meeting held at the Presidential Office on Monday.

The president mentioned that such a move has been a long-delayed plan and is not the first time it had been suggested.

“The idea of moving the capital city has long emerged since President Soekarno’s era, up until it constantly been talked in every presidency,” said Jokowi.

He maintains that the plan never came to fruition since it has never been treated as an official plan despite many other countries moving their capital cities to anticipate the development of their country.

Read also: Criteria on Indonesia`s Capital City Move Explained by Bappenas

“I think we can take the example of many countries; Malaysia, South Korea, Brazil, Kazakhstan. We must think visionary for the country’s development sake,” he said.

The first time this plan was mentioned was twice by Indonesia’s first president Sukarno, first was when he inaugurated Palangka Raya as Central Kalimantan’s capital in 1957 and re-emerged again in 1965 while mentioning the same region as its intended goal.

The idea of moving Indonesia’s capital also emerged during Soeharto’s reign and mentioned Jonggol, Bogor as one of the strong candidates. In October of 2010, President Susilo “SBY” Bambang Yudhoyono also mentioned about moving the capital city.

FRISKI RIANA