IKN: The Rebirth of a Nation or Destruction

The creation of the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) was to promote balanced development across the region. It is also part of Indonesia’s vision, also known as Indonesia Emas 2045. Jakarta, the current capital city, faces significant environmental challenges such as frequent flooding, air pollution, land subsidence, and rising sea levels. The IKN project has been in the works since 2022 and is predicted to continue until 2045. However, the development of IKN has not been smooth sailing and has faced various issues, such as environmental issues, conflict with the indigenous tribes residing in the IKN development area, and challenges in attracting local as well as international investors.

To construct IKN, materials must be brought in from other islands such as Java and Sulawesi. Specifically from Central Sulawesi, where 30 million tons of rocks are extracted from a number of locations in Sulawesi, such as Palu, Donggala, and Sigi. The result of this sand and rock excavation has resulted in devastating declines in the quality of life as well as environmental damage in mining areas. “Dust covers the countryside and the surface of Trans Palu-Donggala highway, forcing people to seal their homes. On the road, drivers need to wear thick masks and goggles” (Tempo English, 2024). This problem has spread not only from an environmental aspect but also towards the health department, as there have been around 800 - 3,000 reports annually for the last two years for acute respiratory tract infections.

IKN was promoted to be a smart future forest city. Joko Widodo, the former President of Indonesia, the man who started the IKN project, claimed that the city will be smart and environmentally friendly with low carbon emissions. The initial plan was that 75% of the land was to be made a green space and that 100% of IKN’s energy would be supplied by renewable energy, such as solar panels and wind turbines. The current situation now however, is that to build this so-called sustainable futuristic haven, millions of people’s lives must be affected by either damaging the environment or by impacting their health. The frail walls on which IKN’s promise for sustainability was built are starting to crumble. It is becoming increasingly clear that claiming IKN is an environmentally friendly city is a blatant lie. From where the materials for this construction are sourced to how it affects the indigenous people living there, the people working on the IKN project have shown time and time again their lack of attention to the environment.

The Balik, Paser, and Kutai tribes are only some of the 21 indigenous tribes who reside on the land on which IKN is being constructed. Cases of displacement to make space for the construction have been running rampant. Former President Joko Widodo revealed that approximately 2,086 hectares of land are currently not feasible for the construction of the IKN project due to the presence of indigenous communities. “Around two hundred indigenous people and residents in North Penajam Paser Regency were demanded to dismantle houses and other buildings that failed to align with IKN’s spatial planning regulations and legal requirements, all within an unreasonable week-long ultimatum” (Pramudyantini and Perkasa, 2024).

The lack of representation, dialogue, and consultation regarding the development of the IKN between the indigenous community and the government is nearly non-existent. One of the main reasons as to why the government has never granted indigenous people equal footing to determine their fate is due to the stigma of backwardness and ignorance, which has unjustly labeled them incapable of self-representation. Representation process in the context of indigenous people in IKN has often occurred without the presence of the indigenous people being represented. They are subjected to silence because their voices and interests are not being heard. The IKN once again contradicts itself, it claims to promote balance, however, how will balance ever be achieved when our brothers and sisters are still left unheard by the government? The IKN project shows a deficit of freedom of speech, equality, and justice principles. The irony once again displays itself when it is proven that the indigenous people own a profound insight into land stewardship, ecological knowledge, and the cultural significance of their territories. These are all knowledge valuable to the construction of IKN if the government weren’t so selfish and condescending towards the indigenous tribes.

80% of the funds for the construction of IKN come from investors, while the other 20% comes from Anggaran Pendapatan dan Belanja Negara (APBN). As a project that relies mostly on investors, the IKN project seems not to be heading towards a bright future. Senior economist from Universitas Indonesia, Faisal Basri, mentioned that the hesitation of investors to invest in IKN is due to the lack of residents that will be residing in the new capital city, which is a whopping 2 million people, to avoid overcapacity. Another aspect as to the lack of interest in investing is the political uncertainty that is going on in Indonesia. Ever since the presidential period of Joko Widodo ended, he has been replaced by his successor, Prabowo Subianto. Although the current President has shown his commitment towards this project, some investors are still adopting a wait-and-see approach.

The most important part of investing is what you get in return. In the case of the IKN project, investors are seeking returns exceeding 12%, which may be challenging given the project’s current stage. “An attractive Internal Rate of Return (IRR) for government projects and public-private partnership (PPP) typically ranges between 12 to 15 percent, while private sector projects typically aim for 15 to 20 percent” (Rusmin, n.d.). Even with the numerous incentives provided by the government towards investors, the IKN has been struggling to garner interest from foreign investors, which further delays the project due to a lack of funding.

IKN has faced many setbacks and hurdles. It has also received much backlash, not just from the indigenous communities there but also from other parts of Indonesia. Arguments from both sides of the fight continue to grow each day between people who support this project and the people who don’t. At the end of the day, the question of whether the Nusantara Capital City will be the sustainable haven the government promised or just another failed summer project made by ambitious multi-millionaires with too much power in their hands, only time will tell.

Bibliography

Najla Nur Fauziyah. (2024, March 6). Senior Economist Claims Investors Hesitant to Enter IKN with 2 Million Residents Limitation. Tempo; TEMPO.CO. https://en.tempo.co/read/1841623/senior-economist-claims-investors-hesitant-to-enter-ikn-with-2-million-residents-limitation

Pramudyantini, E. Q., & Perkasa, V. D. (2022). Human Rights of Indigenous People in Indonesia: A Constitutional Approach. Journal of East Asia and International Law, 15(2), 395–402. https://doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2022.15.2.10

Tempo. (2024, July 15). Environmental Impacts of the IKN Project. Tempo; MAGZ.TEMPO.CO. https://magz.tempo.co/read/opinion/42083/environmental-impacts-of-the-ikn-project

Times, G. A. (2024, June 28). Investors demand over 12 per cent return for Indonesia’s Nusantara projects - Georgia Asian Times. Georgia Asian Times. https://gasiantimes.com/business/2024/06/27/investors-demand-over-12-per-cent-return-for-indonesias-nusantara-projects/?utm_source=chatgpt.com