Whereas travelling with colleagues to East Kalimantan to do fieldwork within the Indonesian capital metropolis (IKN) in mid-July 2022, we collected 180 responses from folks affected by the brand new capital web site. In Java, the relocation of the Indonesian capital from Jakarta to purpose-built Nusantara in Kalimantan raises new hopes for each ruling elites and the Jakarta folks. It’s anticipated to eradicate extreme congestion, unsustainable land use, and overpopulation in Jakarta, and the knock-on results of those issues. These issues have haunted not solely Jakarta, but additionally Java, for a lot of many years. Once we mentioned these points with our native respondents throughout casual and formal conversations, the primary impression we encountered was scepticism. This got here not solely from native lecturers, activists, and native folks, however even native bureaucrats from regency and provincial ranges in East Kalimantan.
These sceptical responses show a niche in data and poor communication between ruling elites of Jakarta and people in East Kalimantan. Whereas the previous drawback pertains to an absence of aspiration to create bridges between nationwide and native actors, the latter drawback is misinformation on each the capital relocation and improvement of supporting services similar to housing for civil servant and servicemen and governmental workplaces.
These two elements inevitably result in unwelcoming responses from most East Kalimantan locals in the direction of the brand new capital. Their sombre responses replicate attitudes knowledgeable by previous and present issues in East Kalimantan, similar to pure disasters, like unrehabilitated mine websites and inequitable funding allocations from all ranges of presidency. Each issues stay unresolved because the capital metropolis points loom. The capital relocation guarantees to be one other thorn within the aspect of East Kalimantan if prior issues are left unresolved.
Most respondents agreed that there isn’t any mutual dialogue between Jakarta and East Kalimantan or inclusive participation supplied to residents of East Kalimantan. For instance, native representatives who have been initially invited to Jakarta have been really members of a small native elite who have been unfamiliar with the native state of affairs. Extra particularly they don’t know of the affect that the challenge could have on native populations.
This meant that details about relocation of individuals in East Kalimantan and the event of the brand new capital has not unfold broadly among the many folks of East Kalimantan. It resulted within the sudden enhance in land costs in a number of sub districts, like Sepaku, Samboja and Bumi Harapan which lie between Nusantara and East Kalimantan’s two supporting cities, Balikpapan and Samarinda for use for housing and different industries supporting the brand new capital. A so-called “land mafia” has emerged, which unilaterally decides the worth of land and retains this info from locals. Sadly, these present and upcoming booms don’t profit the small group of indigenous folks, such because the Paser and Balik peoples, who’ve been pressured to surrender their customary land because of authorities choices to amass it. Against this, those that have freehold title / SHM (sertifikat hak milik) can promote their land.
The Capital Authority / BO (Badan Otorita) itself doesn’t have a department workplace in East Kalimantan but. Ideally, it ought to it ought to set up an workplace from which to interact with the folks of East Kalimantan. In line with native bureaucrats the BO made few visits to carry talks with native governments and/or communities. Actually, these situations create a niche between nationwide and native governments find frequent floor concerning energy sharing.
The principle hole is the shortage of coordination between authorities ranges particularly the central authorities, provincial authorities, and regency/municipal authorities. The problem of territorial enlargement and spatial planning is inflicting main issues between BO and its native authorities counterparts. Though the brand new capital metropolis invoice already defines the capital territory in regulation, there’s nonetheless the opportunity of buying different land from the Kutai Kartanegara and North Penajam Paser regencies, and Balikpapan metropolis. This is able to certainly disrupt the prevailing spatial planning of the three regencies’ governments. One bureaucrat from the Native Improvement Company (Bappeda) instructed me that there isn’t any joint settlement to merge spatial planning between the brand new capital and regencies. Bappeda will run its personal spatial planning packages independently from the Capital Authority. Extra particularly, there’s price range inequality between the BO and its neighbouring governments.
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The regencies are envious of huge BO’s price range. Actually, East Kalimantan Province is the most important fundraiser for the Indonesian nationwide price range (APBN), contributing nearly 500 trillion rupiah per yr. However the particular allocation fund (DAK) that transfers again to East Kalimantan from Jakarta shouldn’t be all the time ample for native infrastructure and public companies. The BO, because the central authorities establishment, is not going to be welcomed by surrounding native governments resulting from its institutional superiority and big funding.
On a social degree the brand new capital metropolis is colloquially often called the Second Betawi (Betawi Kedua) in East Kalimantan. This terminology refers back to the Betawi folks, the unique inhabitants of Jakarta, who’ve been pressured out by speedy improvement and modernisation. On the brand new capital web site roughly 150-200 households in Paser, Balik, and Basap folks can be faraway from their ancestral land resulting from disputed authorized standing. The federal government doesn’t acknowledge ancestral land claims as a result of it believes claimants have the suitable to handle, however not personal the land, in accordance with optimistic legislation rules. This implies the federal government can declare land that’s thought-about to be “unowned”, even when it belongs to conventional land house owners. Moreover, the identify “Nusantara” itself shouldn’t be accepted by locals who suggest indigenous identify “Benuaq Etam” (Our Metropolis) as the brand new capital’s identify.
In sum, each the shortage of coordination between state actors and an absence of acknowledgment between state and society lead me to counsel the true voice of East Kalimantan must be heard. Extra particularly, central authorities ought to sit with native residents in East Kalimantan. There’s an pressing have to ease unresolved points between Jakarta and East Kalimantan to keep away from additional exacerbating an already tense state of affairs.
