While opening the XVIII Conference of Muhammadiyah Youth in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Wednesday (February 22), the president stated that Java Island alone has hosted 56 percent of Indonesia's population and contributed 59 percent to the national gross domestic product (GDP).
"We can imagine the density of Java Island, and we need equitable development to realize Indonesia-centric development instead of Java-centric," Jokowi stated, as observed from the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube channel.
He affirmed that the new capital development not only encompasses relocating government buildings but also realizing a new work culture and mindset through a properly-devised system and development of human resources.
"Hence, we expect the new capital to be a unique city that other countries do not have," the head of state remarked.
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Jokowi emphasized that he was not the first Indonesian president to propose the relocation of the national capital away from Jakarta, as national founder and first president Soekarno had envisioned a new capital outside Java.
"Soekarno himself, in the 1960s, had planned to relocate the capital away from Jakarta to Kalimantan, which is in Palangkaraya City," he remarked.
According to Jokowi, the new capital development will not be completed in a mere blink of an eye, but rather, it would take another 15 to 20 years to realize the desired completion.
When the new capital development completes, the city will be the national administrative center, he stated.
The president also affirmed that Jakarta, whose capital status would be relinquished in the future, would not be neglected, as it would remain a business, tourism, and economic hub.
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Translator: Gilang Galiartha, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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