TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Former President and Chairwoman of the National Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), Megawati Soekarnoputri, stated that the Indonesian capital should be moved to Palangkaraya in Kalimantan. The statement came following President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's plan to build the giant sea wall in the northern part of Jakarta. Megawati believed a giant sea wall is not a safe solution.
Mega expressed her concern by saying that Japan's giant sea wall had collapsed in 2011 when a tsunami hit the country. "Given Jakarta's position that is lower than the sea level, it has greater potential of tsunami or flash flood," Mega said.
Mega also recalled that her father, the first president of Indonesia Soekarno, had planned to move the capital from Jakarta to Palangkaraya in Kalimantan because he believed that Kalimantan is not vulnerable to natural disasters.
INDRA WIJAYA