Nobody in Sepaku district of North Penajam Paser regency, East Kalimantan, knows that the government complex will be built in the area. Nevertheless, hope has sprung.
The people in Samboja district of Kutai Kartanegara regency also hope they will become more prosperous. At the very least, they hope that improved infrastructure, like better roads, is on the cards. The two districts are located next to each other.
“I hope our lives will be better when the capital relocates [here],” Tarno, 50, a community security (Linmas) officer of Suko Mulyo village, Sepaku, said on Wednesday (28/8/2019). He was watching a Tawang Alun dance performance at a field across the Suko Mulyo village office, located at KM 26 of Jl. Raya Samboja-Sepaku.
A majority of the residents in Sepaku are from Java who migrated to the village in 1975.
Tarno said he was both happy and worried about the news. Of course, the relocation of the nation’s capital was the talk of the town.
“I believe that it will benefit us all. Hopefully, we will make progress. For instance, the bumpy roads will become smoother,” said Sepaku resident Tarmudji, 53.
Uneven roads connect villages in Sepaku. Several streetlights on Jl. Raya Samboja-Sepaku are out of order. It is pitch dark at night.
Sepaku head Risman Abdul said the district was 117,300 hectares and split into four subdistricts and 11 villages, and home to 36,400 people. Thirty thousand hectares of the district belonged to 15,000 Javanese migrant families.
The rest of the land belongs to the state and was under the management of private companies in forestry, mining and other industries. “Before the migrants arrived, Sepaku was a jungle. There were small settlements of the Paser people that developed into villages or subdistricts, where the local people mingled with the newcomers,” said Risman.
National Development Planning Minister Bambang Permadi Soemanrti Brodjonegoro said that East Kalimantan’s diverse population was among the major considerations behind the decision to relocate
the capital city there. Aside from Javanese people, the Bugis, Banjar and Dayak people also live in the region. East Kalimantan was also deemed most accepting of outsiders.
Better services
The people in Sepaku hope that the planned relocation would improve basic services in the area, especially utilities and electricity. Some residents do not have access to piped water and depend on wells.
Abdullah, who lives in of Sepaku’s Tengin Baru village, said his family was subscribed to a small-scale utility service, which supplied water from the Tengin River.
In Samboja district, the villages run out of water during every public event they hold. “Water shortages occur often, at least once a week,” said Margo Mulyo villager Handoko.
They also hope that the planned relocation will improve health and education services. Sepaku district does not have a hospital, while Samboja district has one, the Aji Batara Agung Dewa Sakti General Hospital.
“Hopefully, Sepaku will have a hospital and a modern shopping center,” said Efriyanata, who heads the Suko Mulyo village legislature.
However, land speculation has increased alongside the residents’ hopes. In Sepaku, the price of land has skyrocketed from Rp 35 million (US$2,455.34) per hectare to Rp 100 million per hectare. In Samboja, the land price increased from Rp 1.5 million per square meter to Rp 10 million per square meter.
Samboja district head Ahmad Nurkhalis and Sepaku district head Risman Abdul said they had not received any reports of bulk land sales. However, officials at the district, village and subdistrict levels were busy answering questions regarding land prices and the locations closes to the planned site of the new capital.
Information on the planned relocation has spread quickly to increase local awareness.
Tarno said that more than anything, the local people were hoping for better lives with better basic services.