President Joko Widodo chose "Nusantara" as the new capital (IKN) official name in East Kalimantan. The IKN area of more than 256 thousand hectares, including the bay waters covering an area of 69 thousand hectares, will become an area of authority at the provincial level. The regional head of the authority is a state official appointed by the president for a five-year term.

The provisions regarding the Nusantara City have been stated in the final formulation of the Law (UU) on IKN that the DPR has passed. The IKN Bill was passed into law after the IKN Bill Working Committee (Panja) Chairperson at the House of Representatives (DPR), Ahmad Doli Kurnia, read the level I decision of the IKN Bill. After that, the DPR Speaker Puan Maharani, the leader of the DPR Plenary Meeting, sought approval from the members present, both physically (offline) and virtually (online).

"We will ask each faction whether the bill on IKN can be approved and passed into law?" asked Puan to the members of the house attending the Plenary Meeting, Tuesday, 18 January 2022. "Agreed...," replied the floor.

Without further ado, Puan Maharani knocked on her hammer. The IKN Bill was legally passed by the house on 18 January 2022. Official records stated that the plenary meeting was attended by 305 of the 575 members of the House of Representatives.

Ahmad Doli Kurnia said, officially the IKN Bill was first discussed at the second session of the 2021—2022 meeting on 7 December 2021, by holding a cross-sectoral working meeting with National Development Planning (PPN) Minister/Bappenas Head, Finance Minister, Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency, Home Minister, and Law and Human Rights Minister. In conclusion, the IKN Bill was passed within 42 days.

Doli conveyed the bill must be passed into law immediately to provide legal certainty for the development of the IKN. He acknowledged the Government’s efforts to communicate with various parties, such as investors who were interested in investing in the development of the new capital. Everything has to run on a valid legal basis.

Doli explained that the DPR’s special committee worked intensively in high concentration and a tight schedule. The committee also adhered to the procedures and mechanisms for the establishment of legislation that must be followed.

"We are committed to ensuring that this law fulfills the formal and material requirements. We worked relentlessly every day and night, and even on Saturday and Sunday. We also used the recess period to carry out all the agendas that we have set from the beginning of the preparation of this bill," said Doli Kurnia at a press conference after the plenary meeting, Tuesday, 18 January.

The IKN Bill only consists of 44 articles divided into 11 chapters. The House Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad guaranteed that the discussion on the IKN Bill was not rushed. Instead, it ran in a dynamic and in-depth manner. "We did it efficiently, including during recess," said Dasco.

A Consensus of All Parties

Doli Kurnia underlined that the issuance of the IKN Law was the consensus of all parties who had expressed their commitment to relocating the capital city from DKI Jakarta to East Kalimantan. The legal foundation of the IKN Law will ensure the sustainability of IKN development.

The law is indeed relatively concise. It does not regulate everything in detail. Only the main things are included in its provisions, such as the name, location, territory, special government or authorities that will manage the IKN and its rights, and matters of relocating the center of government and representative offices of foreign countries and international institutions. The authority to execute matters related to the transfer is in the hands of the president.

Detailed background of the transfer of the IKN is not included in the provisions of this new law. In the booklet on the Transfer of the New Capital published by the PPN Ministry/Bappenas, a number of considerations regarding the need for a new capital for Indonesia are, among others, the density of the island of Java, which is the foundation of the ecosystem of the capital city of Jakarta. About 56 percent of the Indonesian population lives on the island of Java. Thus, economic activity is also concentrated on the island with a gross domestic product (GDP) contribution of 59 percent.

The population density and high economic activities lead to land conversions in Java, happening at a very high rate. Conservation land is dwindling, and water crises are occurring in Jakarta and its surrounding areas. If changes are not made, the water crisis will escalate.

The supporting elements of Jakarta's environment also continue to decline. As a source of raw water, rivers are increasingly polluted with discharges that fluctuate in extreme ways. Water reservoirs are also contaminated. The threat of flooding constantly haunts the city. This condition is worsened by the decrease in land level (subsidence), especially in the northern area of Jakarta, at a rate of 7.5—10 cm per year. Meanwhile, seawater will continue to rise owing to climate change. Last but not least, the potential for earthquakes also looms over the current capital city.

Those conditions pushed the capital to move to a safer location as soon as possible. Thus, after a long period of observation and study, the area in North Penajam Paser Regency, East Kalimantan, was chosen as the new capital. The law on which it is based is now available.

However, Doli Kurnia said that the IKN Special Committee requested that Jakarta receive special attention after the government moved the capital. According to him, the majority of the IKN Special Committee members proposed that Jakarta should still be called a special area, although it will no longer be a Special Capital Region. In fact, Jakarta has a historical value, adequate infrastructure, and quite complete public facilities.

"I think it's a waste if we do not pay any attention to Jakarta [anymore]. Therefore, further changes in the Law on Jakarta will be discussed by the government and the DPR,” said Doli. Jakarta will continue to give its best contribution to Indonesia.

Writer: Putut Trihusodo
Editors: Ratna Nuraini/Elvira Inda Sari/Erik Limantara
Translator: Aisah Amanda