Weighing Up the Relocation of The Capital City

KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO

President Joko Widodo (center), accompanied by Vice President Jusuf Kalla (right), leads discussion on plans to move the state capital during a limited Cabinet meeting on April 29, 2019 at the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta. The President said any plan to move the capital city required careful consideration of geopolitical and geostrategic aspects, supporting infrastructure and available funding. The idea of moving the capital city has been floated since the first Indonesian president, Sukarno.

News broke on April 29 that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had decided to move the capital city to outside Java. In addition to reducing the pressure of urbanization on Jakarta and reducing the concentration of development on Java, the decision was reportedly also intended to stimulate development outside Java.

The idea of relocating the capital city first emerged in the era of president Sukarno, who had mentioned his intention for the capital city to be moved to Palangkaraya, which was considered the "midpoint" of the archipelago. Then in the era of president Soeharto, the idea resurfaced with the suggestion that Jonggol be the center of government with Jakarta to remain symbolically the capital city of the state. Pro and con arguments arose for each suggestion.

During the era of president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, there were also efforts to accommodate various inputs and proposals regarding the relocation of the capital city. At that time, in 2010, the writer happened to be invited to speak at various discussion forums or debates related to the proposal and voiced the aspirations of minorities who were less amenable to the relocation of the capital city. The writer did not disagree 100 percent because as a person who has been involved in the planning of new cities, the writer was certainly very "excited" by this idea. However, there were three things the writer submitted at that time to be considered before the final decision was made.

First, the construction of a new capital city, which will certainly not be cheap, can lead to a "moral hazard" because it will then be copied by all or at least most of the provinces and regencies, which number in the hundreds.

If that happens, more government funds will be allocated to build offices and facilities than on the infrastructure that is needed by the community, such as schools, hospitals, youth/sports venues, bridges and ports. When there are still many poorly constructed school buildings, perfunctory hospitals, the absence of sports venues and collapsing bridges, building a magnificent government center that in fact is "its own facility" seems very unwise.

Second, building a new city from scratch – let alone a state capital – takes decades, meaning continuity of support must be ensured. The new city of Bumi Serpong Damai, for example, has required more than 30 years to become a "mature" city. The construction of a new city – especially a state capital – requires not only certainty of continued financial support, but also ongoing political support throughout changes in government.

Third, if the goal is to spread development outside Jakarta, in the debates at that time the writer argued that spreading out state-owned enterprise headquarters and facilities as well as giving incentives to private corporations to focus their activities outside Java would have a far bigger impact on the distribution of regional development than just moving the capital city outside Jakarta.

Now is more appropriate

The discourse of relocating the capital city at that time simply disappeared until the change of president in 2014. After a while, the idea of moving the capital city resurfaced, generally when Jakarta was facing very difficult problems, such as extraordinary flooding and severe congestion.

The National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) also continued to carry out a plus-minus study on relocating the capital and on alternatives. The options were (i) the capital remains in Jakarta, (ii) the center of government is relocated to the outskirts of Jabodetabek, (iii) the capital city is relocated outside Java. The results were then submitted to President Jokowi recently. And, as usual, President Jokowi was very "decisive" by deciding to move the capital city outside Java, as has been widely reported by the media since 29 April.

Hearing and reading the news, then reflecting on what the writer disclosed to the public nearly 10 years ago, the writer feels that now could be the right time, or at least more appropriate than in 2010 or even 2014. Why? Because the government has increasingly shown its commitment to developing facilities that directly benefit the wider community.

Moreover, many provinces and regencies, such as in Gorontalo, Riau Islands, North Maluku and North Kalimantan, have already built their own respective government centers, even though in the view of the writer, the public utilization is very low because their designs are simply to show an impression of grandeur rather than being an efficient compact city that services the community.

Even though the decision to relocate the capital will always be a political decision, technocratic considerations still cannot be ignored. Political – and financial – support also needs constant attention specifically because it is estimated that the construction will continue for several presidential terms. The project cannot be allowed to stand dormant simply because of a lack of support from the next state leader.

Furthermore, the distribution of development cannot rely solely on the relocation of the capital. Lessons can be taken from the relocation of other capital cities with the aim of promoting regional equity. Brasilia, the capital city of Brazil, which was built in the middle of Amazonia, has not succeeded in boosting the equitable distribution of development outside the East Coast region of Brazil. This teaches us that the transfer of the capital city alone is not enough. Several newly built state capitals, such as Canberra in Australia and Naypyidaw in Myanmar, are still quiet after decades.

Spreading out centers of commercial activity – whether through relocating SOEs or providing incentives for private corporations – is a more effective way to achieve equitable development. Hopefully this time, these things have been or will be considered in the decision to relocate the capital city.

Wicaksono Sarosa, The writer is an observer of urban problems and a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, who was formally involved in development planning for several new cities