Nusantara: Jokowi’s political legacy and its future outlook

Given the basic function of a capital as a symbol of state power and national identity, there is a need to limit the involvement of the private sector in the development of the Central Government District.

President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo walks to his chair ahead of the final cabinet meeting at the Garuda Palace in the future capital of Nusantara, North Penajam Paser regency, East Kalimantan on Sept. 13, 2024. (Antara/M Risyal Hidayat)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s decision to spend most of his final days in office at the Garuda Palace in the future capital of Nusantara is significant. It represents the last political ritual he can perform to ensure the longevity of the project.

From the outset, the construction of Nusantara was primarily intended to establish his personal legacy and, to a lesser extent, the collective legacy of his ruling coalition. This legacy, however, will have a profound impact on Nusantara and its people, and it is important to critically assess these implications.

The construction of Nusantara is closely linked to his political image as an entrepreneurial leader who continuously embodies non-populist and pro-poor principles, attributes he actively pursued even before becoming president. Nusantara is intricately connected to Jokowi’s policy strategies, which have focused on infrastructure megaprojects, settlement relocations and the establishment of regional growth centers.

President Jokowi’s vision for Nusantara extends far beyond his presidency. He envisions the new capital city as a lasting monument to his leadership, a model of modernization for the global community and a symbol of prosperity and greatness for the nation. By transforming the way futuristic cities are conceived and constructed, he aims to establish a legacy through which he might wish to be remembered as a state leader who successfully steered the nation to its glory.

Planning for political legacies may involve the use of authoritarian methods for various reasons. Political legacies often exhibit an elitist character, primarily intended to satisfy the aspirations of the leaders rather than to cater to the interests of their fellow citizens and meet the demands of the people.

Additionally, the extended duration of a legacy sometimes leads to audience mismatch, whereby the individuals who will reap the benefits of the legacy outcome may no longer be the same as those who were affected by the legacy antecedent. This potential mismatch is a significant consideration in evaluating the long-term impact of Jokowi’s legacy.

Because Jokowi prioritized swift actions, the process of establishing his political legacy was marked by pragmatic approaches to the building of formal, informal and cultural institutions.

In a race against time, the government implemented pragmatic authoritarian models for planning and governance, prioritizing realistic, flexible and adaptive strategies to bolster the legitimacy of the President’s hidden political agenda.

These strategies encompassed unstructured and unsystematic planning and development processes that included selective modification, transformation, displacement or suspension of existing institutions, revitalization of neglected institutions and the establishment of new institutions such as the fast-track ratification of the Capital City Law, the authoritarian neo-liberal structure of the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) Authority, oligarchic growth coalitions and political rituals influenced by Javanese culture.

In the absence of a coherent ideological and paradigmatic foundation regulating the legacy mechanism, disjunctions between rhetoric and practice commonly occur, resulting in paradoxes, conflicts and contradictions within decision-making processes and governance structures.

For some observers, President Jokowi’s hasty, inconsistent and contradictory policies may reflect his unexpected and chaotic approach to dealing with extremely urgent situations.

The relocation of the capital from Jakarta to Nusantara entails more than merely creating grandiose structures and transferring government personnel. It also requires developing a new, sophisticated urban society in previously underdeveloped territory.

Despite the ongoing process of early deindustrialization, the construction of Nusantara in the forests and plantations of East Kalimantan will continue to be an ambitious long-term megaproject that will last far beyond president-elect Prabowo Subianto ’s five-year term, which begins on Oct. 20.

Nusantara, therefore, is too big to fail. The upcoming task is to integrate this personal legacy into a nation-state-driven initiative with long-term goals. Given the basic function of a capital as a symbol of state power and national identity, there is a need to limit the involvement of the private sector in the development of the Central Government District (KIPP).

With more than 70 percent of the overall government budget allotted, it is critical that the government strengthens its reliance on public-private partnerships to achieve economic sustainability while retaining control. Furthermore, it should look into alternative and innovative financing mechanisms to meet its pledge to complete the construction of the KIPP.

For the foreseeable future, Nusantara must shift its goals from becoming a multifunctional capital to realistically functioning as a secondary capital. In addition to the real estate, tourism and hospitality sectors, the private sector and state-owned enterprises could help foster knowledge-based economies by focusing on highly regulated sectors that require spatial proximity and interactive resource sharing between private firms and national government organizations.

In the context of Nusantara, these sectors encompass diplomatic, security and military services and industries, higher education and research and development.

Furthermore, the regional contexts of this new capital city growth must be considered to determine the appropriate geographical scale for realizing the government’s objective of establishing a new economic hub.

At the inter-city level, the government should execute regional development strategies and form coordinating agencies to prepare for the emergence of a polycentric megaregion that prioritizes resource-based downstream industries and environmental services. This preparedness can be achieved by connecting Nusantara with nearby developed cities such as Balikpapan and Samarinda, as well as other adjacent towns.

On a broader geographical scale, the strategic positioning of Nusantara within the urban corridor that may grow along the eastern coast of Kalimantan, from Banjarmasin on the southeast coast to Tarakan on the northeast coast, should also be considered.

In conclusion, the future outlook of Nusantara as a political legacy depends on the effectiveness of formal, informal and cultural institution-building processes following the national leadership transition next month.

Several key recommendations can be made regarding the institution-building of this legacy. It is crucial for the government to improve the quality of regulatory frameworks to optimize the planning and development of the new capital. Enhancing the quality of planning instruments and procedures could bolster the argumentation stance in anticipation of any resistance after the transition.

The stability and durability of the current and future ruling coalition, as custodians of the laws, plans, and projects linked with the building of the new capital, are critical to their function as guardians of this legacy.

Finally, to successfully institutionalize the idea and ideology underlying the capital relocation, symbolic, ceremonial and ritual components must be transcended and integrated into the everyday routines of ordinary citizens. Cultural institutionalization can be achieved by engaging not only the elites but also grassroots communities.

Last Updated: Oct 11, 2024 @ 3:40 pm
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