Independence Day in Indonesia
Talking about the 17th of August and saying goodbye to the "Special Capital Region".
UPDATE (November 23, 2024): A very late correction, but it had just came into my attention that the inauguration of the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) was actually delayed and so Jakarta still remains as the capital of Indonesia as of the writing of this update [read this AP Article for more info]. For how long, I have no idea. The now former President Jokowi said that the Indonesian Government is aiming for January 2025 but nothing is set in stone so far. The reason it took me this long to realize this? The Independence Day Celebration which I mistook for Nusantara’s inauguration as the capital. The fact that things remain much the same here in Jakarta, even the reference to DKI (Special Capital Region) probably should have been a giveaway. But I didn’t think much of it since Indonesians are notorious for taking a long time to get things done, and I assume that it was simply Jakarta remaining as the de facto capital even as Nusantara had become the de jure capital.
Greetings,
By the time this blogpost is live, it’ll be exactly a year since I released my last post on the 17th of August1, AKA Independence Day for Indonesia . Like I said in that post, time moves really fast. But I’m not just talking about my Substack. Today is also the very first time that I celebrate this holiday in Indonesia itself.
Indeed, the last time I was in Indonesia during the 17th of August was around ten years ago, after I graduated from college. I came really close 5 years ago when I visited Indonesia for two weeks in August, but I left for America just before the 17th.
But now I’m here. And as expected, the whole country had done their preparations to celebrate Indonesia 79th birthday. I could see them for myself as my neighborhood is adorned with the red and white.
I figured I should take some photos to show for it. So I did, though I didn’t want to show other people’s homes. So here’s the local park. I remember back in the day when the older men of the neighborhood would use it to play badminton2.
Behold…
What’s shown above is only a fraction of the red and white and garudas that dotted the place. It’s a safe bet to assume that the rest of the country is like this also.
But this 17th of August is special in another way for the nation. I am of course speaking about the moving of the nation’s capital from Jakarta to Nusantara, a planned city in East Kalimantan.
By the time of this blogpost’s release, there will be no more Daerah Khusus Ibukota (DKI) Jakarta, or the Special Capital Region of Jakarta in English. Instead, it will be known as Daerah Khusus Jakarta (DKJ), or the Special Region of Jakarta in English.
How do I feel about it? Eh. Maybe I should be really happy considering what they got in store for the place:
Even so, I’m not all that stoked. And it’s not just because of the issues faced by the project, which the above video covered around the 10-minute mark.
Rather, it’s personal. I grew up my whole life with the understanding that Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia. Of course, being knowledgable in geography, I am more than aware that many countries have changed their capital; Pakistan and Myanmar3 came to mind. Then there are historical examples like the Roman Empire under Emperor Constantine who moved the capital from Rome to Constantinople. And let’s not forget the United States of America who moved its capital from Philadelphia to that swampy plot of land in Maryland we call Washington, DC.
Needless to say, moving the capital is a phenomenon almost as old as civilization itself. Even Indonesia had done it before.
and I had a conversation about it at the comments section a few weeks ago. And this was my thoughts on the capital move:
Am I overthinking this? Probably. Even so, I still stand by what I said. Of course, Lausanne responded with this comment:
I hope readers got a chuckle out of that, because I certainly did. More importantly, Lausanne was absolutely correct. By their own estimation, Nusantara would not be fully finished until 2045. And even once it was finished, there’s no guarantee that people will go there in large numbers.
An example of this is Pakistan. Even though Islamabad have been the capital for decades, the old capital Karachi remains as the most populous city in the country and its economic center. In fact, the Pakistani capital don’t even crack the Top 5 in terms of population in Pakistan.
So I’m pretty sure some formal announcements and the movements of bureaucrats away from the Jakarta isn’t going to change much for city. If anything, that might be for the better. Who knows? Only time will tell.
Until next time, Michael P. Marpaung
Well, kind of. Time difference and all that.
Unfortunately the place is mostly left empty these days. But that’s beside the point of this blogpost.
Though Myanmar’s kind of a bad example to use. Just watch this video:
The move of the Indonesian capital city from Jakarta to a completely different island is going to be fascinating to watch from this distance. Time will tell the cost in over-runs and disrupted lives there on the ground. Jakarta's problems are complex. Will this visionary solution work? I can't fault them for trying.