Indonesia's New Capital Under Scrutiny: Anies Baswedan Will Review The Project If Elected in 2024

Team Global, Jakarta - The new capital of Indonesia, Nusantara, is facing a serious challenge from presidential candidate Anies Baswedan who promises to review the project if he is elected as the president. Previously, his campaign team criticized the expensive project as inappropriate. 

Nusantara is President Joko Widodo's flagship program at the closing chapters of his presidency. This program is a glaring pivot from his so-called "sea toll" project to promote Indonesia's maritime power, a project that he rarely speaks of anymore. 

President Jokowi uses sustainability argument to relocate the capital from Jakarta to East Kalimantan, although Greenpeace has criticized that building a new capital is not a solution. There is also a problem about the colossal financing.

But the argument from the government is Nusantara project will go on since the parliament already passed the law for its development. Anies Baswedan disagreed.

"If according to the law, today the capital is still Jakarta. And according to the law, later we will move to Nusantara, correct? Later, I will see to it again. If I am elected, we will review it all over," said Anies Baswedan in Bandung, Wednesday (29/11).

Anies argued that the money for the new capital should be channeled to various sectors instead, including welfare, police, and military. 

"So that's the challenge, when we allocate the budge so immensely in one spot, therefore there are other spots which actually need it, do not get it," said Anies.

President Joko Widodo has not publicly announced which candidate to support. His relationship with his party, Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P), has soured after Jokowi's son becoming Prabowo Subianto's running mate, meanwhile PDI-P is nominating Ganjar Pranowo.

So far, Ganjar Pranowo has not spoken negatively about the new capital project.