Anies Baswedan Will Review IKN If He Wins The 2024 Presidential Election

Presidential Candidate Number 1 Anies Baswedan (Photo: DOK Anies/Diah Ayu-VOI National Team)

Presidential candidate number 1 Anies Baswedan said he would review the Nusantara State Capital (IKN) project if he was later elected as President of the Republic of Indonesia in 2024. "If the law says, today the capital city is still Jakarta and according to the law, it will move to the archipelago. Right? I'll see, if I am elected, we will review it all," said Anies at Anies' Desak event in Bandung, West Java, Wednesday, November 29. He has also criticized Anies for the development of IKN. This time, Anies highlighted the large budget for the IKN project of up to hundreds of trillions of rupiah. In fact, according to him, the budget can be used for more equitable development throughout Indonesia, starting from equitable teacher salaries to the construction of health centers in urban villages. "If it is used to improve the welfare, the police, soldiers, the soldiers they lack, they will benefit much more," he continued.

Furthermore, Anies highlighted the imbalance in development because the government of President Joko Widodo was too focused on disbursing funds to build IKN in one region. "The unequal ones are not one location, the unequal ones are in Nusa Tenggara, in Kalimantan, in Sulawesi. Therefore, we need to equalize development. But if we decide on inequality by building one place, then what do the other unequal places get? What can't. Where can it be? Yes, that's just one place," he said.