The Minister Of PPN Says There Are Proposed 80 Names Of Candidates For The State Capital, Which Jokowi Has Chosen Is Nusantara

Minister of National Development Planning (PPN)/National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Suharso Monoarfa (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Minister of National Development Planning/Head of Bappenas, Suharso Monoarfa, said that the government actually received around 80 names of candidates for the State Capital (IKN) submitted by experts. However, President Joko Widodo decided on another name, namely Nusantara.

"There were more than 80 names that were proposed but the president chose Nusantara without the word Jaya," said Suharso at the Working Meeting of the Special Committee on the Draft Law on the National Capital City (RUU IKN) at the Parliament Complex, Jakarta, Antara, Monday, January 17.

He explained that before President Jokowi chose the name Nusantara, his party had summoned historians and linguists to provide knowledge regarding the names of the candidates for the State Capital. According to him, the names are Negara Jaya, Nusantara Jaya, Nusa Karya, Nusa Jaya, Pertiwi Pura, Wana Pura, and Cakrawala Pura.

In addition, he said, after the government submitted Nusantara as the name of the State Capital, it was proposed to change the sentence in Article 1 paragraph 2 of the IKN Bill.

"We get input from linguists, Article 1 paragraph 2 to avoid repetition, so being the State Capital named Nusantara is a regional government unit that is special at the provincial level," he said.

Previously, Suharso Monoarfa said President Joko Widodo had conveyed the name of the State Capital (IKN), namely Nusantara.

"I just received confirmation from Mr. President Jokowi last Friday and he said the name of the capital city of this country is Nusantara," said Suharso at the Working Committee Meeting (Panja) of the Draft Law on the State Capital (RUU IKN) at the Parliament Complex, Jakarta, Monday. .

He explained that the reason for choosing the name was that the name Nusantara had been known for a long time and became an international icon. In addition, according to him, the name Nusantara is easy and describes the Indonesian archipelago.