Making Petitions, Busyro Muqoddas, Faisal Basri, Until Din Syamsuddin Asks The Government To Cancel The Moving Of The National Capital

Illustration. (Doc. Between)

JAKARTA - A petition urging the government to cancel the plan to relocate the State Capital (IKN) to East Kalimantan has emerged. This urge was initiated by 45 figures consisting of professors to former KPK leaders.

According to VOI, the petition initiated by the Narasi Institute is entitled 'Support the Voice of the People: PAK PRESIDENT, 2022-2024 IS NOT THE TIME TO MOVE THE CAPITAL'.

Quoted from the change.org website, dozens of figures who initiated the push for the IKN plan to relocate include a Muslim scholar and pioneer of the Center for the Study of Islam and Society (PPIM) UIN Jakarta, Azyumardi Azra; former KPK leader, Busyro Muqoddas; senior economist Faisal Basri; to the former chairman of Muhammadiyah, Din Syamsuddin.

"We, the initiators, invite all Indonesian citizens to support the call for the President to stop the plan to relocate and build the nation's capital in Kalimantan," the petition was quoted as saying on Saturday, February 5.

They consider the transfer of IKN in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic to be inappropriate. Moreover, the community is currently in a difficult economic situation.

"So there is no urgency for the government to move the national capital," said the initiators.

Dozens of these figures also think that the government should focus on handling the new variant of Omicron which requires large funds from the APBN and PEN.

Furthermore, these figures also urged reconsideration of moving the nation's capital city because Indonesia has a large debt, a state budget deficit of more than 3 percent, and declining state revenues.

Thus, it would be a wise move if President Jokowi did not impose state finances to finance the project. "While other basic infrastructure in some areas is still poor, damaged schools are neglected, and some village bridges are neglected and not maintained," they said.

Furthermore, this figure also considers the project of moving and building a new nation's capital city will not benefit the people as a whole and will only benefit a few people.

Moreover, the preparation of academic texts on IKN development was not compiled in a comprehensive and participatory manner, especially the environmental impact and financial support capacity as well as the geological and geostrategic situation in the midst of a pandemic.

"The big question for the public is whether the interest in moving the new capital is in the public interest," said these figures.

"We see that now is not the right time to move the State Capital from Jakarta to Penajam Pasir Utara, East Kalimantan," they added.

Regarding this petition, Azyumardi Azra confirmed that he was one of the initiators. He said this petition is a form of concern accompanied by logical reasons.

"Yes. It's basically a 'Petition of Concern' - which for various logical reasons - calls on President Jokowi not to build a new IKN," Azyumardi said when contacted.

Currently, the petition has been signed by 5,058 people. Residents who signed this call mostly agreed that relocating the nation's capital was not important at this time.