Out Of town
Indonesia announces the big move of its capital out of Jakarta—once again
With an increasing population and a number of municipal issues, the idea of moving the capital of Indonesia away from Jakarta is certainly not a new one. However, according to a number of reports, President Joko Widodo has finally made a choice to move the capital from Jakarta to an as-yet-unknown location.
The current front-runner is Palangkaraya on the island of Borneo, while others have suggested Sulawesi as being an ideal choice. Home to more than 10 million people, Jakarta is sinking at one of the fastest rates in the world. When this fact is added to the traffic congestion, flooding, and the lack of clean water, there are a number of valid reasons to move the capital. However, Indonesia has never elected a non-javanese president and most of Indonesia’s wealth is concentrated in Jakarta. Moving the capital out of Java would send a powerful political message that this is changing. Whether the big move comes to fruition or if it will actually make a difference are yet to be determined