Jakarta – The results of an Indostrategic survey released on Friday July 14 show that most people disagree with the national capital (IKN) being immediately moved from Jakarta to East Kalimantan.
Indostrategic Institute for Democracy & Strategic Affairs Executive Director Khoirul Umam said that the number of respondents who slightly disagree and strongly disagree with moving the capital is as high as 57.3 percent.
"This is quite unique, the public conveyed that around 57.3 percent feel that they slightly disagree or strongly disagree with the country's capital city being immediately moved to East Kalimantan", said Imam during an online press conference.
"Meanwhile 40.1 percent stated that they agree or strongly agree", he continued.
Imam said that in the survey they found that there were three main reasons for the majority of the public disagreeing with the capital being moved to Nusantara in East Kalimantan.
The first is that it would be more beneficial if the funds need to construct the new capital were used to deal with the existing problems in Indonesia.
"The reason that they disagree, 46.2 percent feels that the cost of the construction would be better used for things that are more urgent", he said.
Second, the construction of a new capital in East Kalimantan is seen as being rushed. And the final reason is that Jakarta is still seen as suitable and appropriate to be the capital city of Indonesia.
"16.5 percent feel that moving the IKN is not urgent in the near future and 8.2 percent believe that Jakarta is still suitable as the national capital", he said.
The Indostrategic survey was conducted on June 9-20 using a multi-stage random sampling method involving a sample of 1,400 respondents from 38 provinces that cover 84 electoral districts throughout Indonesia. The survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews and had a 2.62 margin of error.
Other survey institutions that have conducted polls on the issue such as the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the Denny JA Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) and Kompas Research and Development (Litbang Kompas), have also mapped out the public's views on the capital city move.
In June 2022, the CSIS released the results of a survey where as many as 58.8 percent of specialist or expert respondents were not convinced that the capital city move would proceed according the targets set by the administration of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Ma'ruf Amin.
The survey of 170 experts made up of researchers, academics, journalists, bureaucrats and politicians stated that only 41.2 percent were convinced that the capital city move would happen according to plan.
A CSIS researcher said in the release on June 6 that the respondents were also not convinced of the budget or the government's ambition to begin moving public servants to the new capital beginning in 2024.
Several months earlier, also in 2022, a Litbang Kompas survey revealed that the majority of respondents believed that the government is focusing more on the new capital city rather than on fixing the economy post the global Covid-19 pandemic.
Litbang Kompas noted that 51.3 percent of respondents were of the view that the government is more focused on the new capital city. At the same time, 47.1 percent of respondents did not agree with the budget allocation for the new city.
"Meaning, more than half of respondents felt that the government's orientation is not directed enough toward domestic social problems", said Litbang Kompas researcher Arita Nugrahaeni as quoted by the Kompas daily on Monday April 4, 2022.
Although more recently, the results of a Denny JA LSI survey that was released on July 10 showed that 47.3 percent of the public agreed with moving the capital city while 43.7 percent disagree.
President Widodo has already determined that the capital city will be moved to Penajam Paser Utara in East Kalimantan. The plan to move the capital was first touted by Widodo during the start of his second term in office in 2019. The move is regulated under legislation passed by the House of Representatives (DPR).
On Friday June 23 acting Jakarta Governor Heru Budi Hartono stated that by next year, or in 2024, Jakarta will no longer carry the status of being the capital city of Indonesia.
This was conveyed by Hartono after an event commemorating the 496th anniversary of Jakarta (HUT DKI) at the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta.
"496, part of the HUT DKI that is special where later next year the words 'the capital city' will of course no longer be carried [by Jakarta]. So this is the starting point to give the best going forward, for Jakarta and for all the people of Jakarta in the future", said Hartono. (yla/kid)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Survei Indostrategic: Mayoritas Warga Tak Setuju IKN Segera Pindah".]
