Facilities Are Obliged, IKN Captivities Are Not Yet Sexy

Photo By Andry Winarko (VOI)

JAKARTA - A symbol of the national identity of the capital city of the archipelago (IKN) is expected to represent the diversity of the Indonesian nation, identity, social character, unity and greatness of the nation which reflects the uniqueness of Indonesia.

As a world city for all, IKN Nusantara is visionless to become a sustainable, smart, green, and blue world city. In relation to driving Indonesia's future economy, the capital city of Nusantara (IKN) is sought to become a city that is progressive, innovative and competitive in terms of technology, architecture, urban planning and social with superhub economic strategy.

One form of luxury is expected to be an attraction to the ministers' official residences. Although only four have been built, the office houses of the presidential assistants have 3 floors. And the luxury of the minister's house suddenly became a topic of conversation among netizens.

Minister of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform (PANRB) Azwar Anas opened his voice. According to him, the minister's house in IKN is smaller than the official residence of the current minister.

"In fact, in my opinion, the minister's house, which is now smaller than the house of the minister in Jakarta, is actually smaller, and the land is smaller. The building is also smaller than the current one," said Azwar Anas, Monday, February 26.

But in terms of luxury he was reluctant to talk longer. However, in terms of size, it is smaller.

"I'm not talking about luxury or not, but the size of the minister's house now in IKN is smaller than the size of the minister's house now in Jakarta," he said.

The luxury given does not stop there. The use of business and building rights is said to be up to 160 years of pros and cons. Under normal conditions, where investment opportunities provide a reasonable advantage, HGU is 25 - 35 years.

Economist who is also the Director of Indonesia Development and Islamic Studies (IDEAS), Yusuf Wibisono assessed that the promotion and provision of various incentives to investors at IKN is very excessive.

"This is very excessive, and reflects the low attractiveness of investment in IKN so that it must be given a concession period of such a long time," he said.

Yusuf reminded the government to give everything in accordance with the 1960 Agrarian Basic Law, the request for an extension of the concession period is only a maximum of 25 years. So that the maximum maximum concession period should be 60 years.

Furthermore, the provision of HGU up to 190 years is also not accompanied by the regulation of revocation of adequate concession rights if there is a violation of the provisions. This very long concession period also has great potential to create agrarian conflicts and harm local communities whose living space is significantly limited due to the provision of a large land concession for a long period of time.

"Even in the Dutch colonial era, in Agrarische Wet 1870, the right of concessions to investment is only 75 years," he said.

Low Investment Opportunities At IKN

The second evidence is the low investment opportunity in IKN, so far there has been no realization of investment in IKN except for a handful of strong domestic investors who are suspected of entering IKN due to non-commercial considerations.

Especially because of the proximity factor to the authorities. It is possible that they want to maintain good relations with the authorities, especially now that the pair of presidential candidates 02 supported by the authorities won the presidential election. The incumbent-backed presidential candidate pairs have declared themselves to continue the construction of IKN.

In other words, although there is actually no attractive investment opportunity, a handful of these domestic investors are willing to enter IKN not because of pure commercial considerations. The investment they spend is more seen as a "cost" for the smooth running and sustainability of their business.

Even though it has been groundbreaking, the realization of investment from domestic investors will not automatically run quickly. Although we see quite a number of projects that look deserted after the groundbreaking. This is easy to understand because business requires demand with adequate purchasing power.

High purchasing populations in sufficient quantities are the main problem for IKN in attracting investment. Population is the driving and attractor of investment. As long as IKN does not yet have a significant population, investor interest will certainly be minimal, especially foreign investors.

Until now, let alone expecting a move for residents, the transfer of ASN is still a question mark. "It is not easy to ask residents, especially ASNs who have been living in Jakarta, to be willing to move permanently to IKN, at the expense of the comfort of life they have felt," he told VOI.

According to Yusuf, the excitement of attractive investment opportunities in IKN has actually been confirmed since the beginning of the IKN development plan. In early 2020, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut claimed that Softbank would enter IKN with a fantastic investment commitment, US$ 100 billion. However, after the IKN Law was passed in January 2022, Softbank actually withdrew from IKN. Low chance of profit and too high uncertainty for this megaproject is because it requires sustainability for the next 2-3 decades.

According to him, Prabowo-Gibran's victory in the presidential election will not automatically boost investor confidence in entering IKN. In addition to the issue of long-term political support, the main problem of IKN which is very basic, is the low chance of profit, which is rooted in the potential purchasing power of the IKN population.

"In my opinion, as long as it is not clear about the total population of IKN and how much purchasing power, the attitude of private investors will still be more wait and see, especially foreign investors." he said

The Sad IKN

As a world city for all, the capital city of the archipelago (IKN) must be useful for IKN residents who are in eastern Kalimantan. In order to be useful for IKN residents or local residents, it is hoped that the transfer and development of IKN should not harm them. They must be nurtured and empowered. For this reason, mapping is needed in the social and economic fields of the community.

According to the Chancellor of Balikpapan University, Isradi Zainal, the transfer of IKN is the answer to saving Jakarta as the'sinking city'. In addition, it is also considered as a solution to minimize losses due to traffic jams, pollution, and flooding in Jakarta.

"Residents who have been concentrated in Java will be decomposed by the existence of the capital city of the archipelago, as well as infrastructure and economic development. The transfer of IKN will at least save the fertile land on the island of Java which will be eroded by housing development for a long time," he told VOI.

However, the IKN project is considered 'cat' in terms of the use of labor in the construction process. Projects that use a large state budget and are touted as a solution to unraveling congestion in Jakarta use foreign workers in the monitoring process.

Mulyadi, a member of Commission V DPR RI from the Gerindra faction, admitted that he was surprised because the IKN development using the state budget was quite large, but the government plans to use foreign workers to oversee the IKN project.

"I think this is sad, if the need for 'non-kill' must be foreign workers, right, dear," he told VOI, Tuesday, February 27 at the people's representative complex, Jakarta.

Chairman of Commission V DPR RI, Lasarus said that the government's policy to use foreign workers as IKN project supervisors was a hard slap for the PUPR Ministry. This is because it shows that the Director General of Construction Development of the Ministry of PUPR has not been able to prepare qualified construction human resources for current development needs.

"If the government's explanation, right, to make sure, is it not certain that the workforce is taken from within the country? I think this is a slap for the Ministry of PUPR and it has been acknowledged by the government that it is monitored there by foreign workers," he said.

Despite the various controversies that accompany the development of IKN Nusantara, this megaproject is said to be President Jokowi's legacy. In fact, the former Governor of DKI Jakarta continues to try to convince entrepreneurs to invest in IKN Nusantara. One of them is the guarantee of the sustainability of the IKN Nusantara project, even though the government has changed.

"For the sustainability of IKN Nusantara, I have also often conveyed this, ladies and gentlemen once again, there is no need to hesitate, there is no need to worry, because the legal umbrella is clear... namely Law Number 3 of 2022," Jokowi said in front of entrepreneurs and ASN.

Reasons For Custody In The 2024 Election

The sustainability of the IKN Nusantara project is suspected to be the reason Jokowi is still going to mess up even though his government has ended October 20, 2024. The chairman of the PPP Party Advisory Council, Muhammad Romahurmuziy, admitted that he received information from one of the leading directors of the survey institute that the continuation of the IKN Nusantara development was the reason Jokowi would remain weak,

"Mr. Jokowi's intention to keep playing 'cards' and power indirectly, because IKN must be realized, and it takes three national leadership. This means that first, if Mr. Prabowo is healthy, he could be ten years old. After that, Mas Gibran has 48 years old, he will enter there. After that, Mas Kaesang may enter, "he explained in the Total Politics podcast, Sunday, February 25, 2024.

According to Romi, regardless of who will sit as the ruler, because Jokowi's obsession is that IKN Nusantara must be realized. "That's the information I got from his conversation with one of the directors of the survey institute. So that whatever will eventually be hit considering this IKN cost around Rp500 trillion," he added.

In addition, even though his power ended in October 2024, Jokowi was still the president designer of the 2025 State Budget. However, after that everything will depend on the policy of the next president. Romi gave an example, a country that moves its capital city like Egypt with New Cairo, the budget is designed bigger than IKN, and does not materialize. This is because the national leadership in Egypt does not have the same vision.

Dan Pak Jokowi tentu tidak mau IKN menjadi Hambalang volume dua. Kalau IKN sampai mangkrak, itu akan menjadi pemotan mangkrak terbesar dalam sejarah manusiam manusia. Itu sebabnya Pak Jokowi tidak peduli kurung-cela, dikata-katain, yang penting IKN terwujud. Itu informasi yang saya terima, ujar Romi.