Indonesia's capital relocation set to shape 2024 presidential poll

Former Jakarta governor calls out 'minimal public engagement' on Nusantara

20230123 indonesia

From left: Anies Baswedan, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and Central Java Gov. Ganjar Pranowo: Baswedan criticized plans to move the capital but the other two are likely to push for it if one becomes the next president. (Source photos by Reuters and Getty Images)

NANA SHIBATA, Nikkei staff writer

JAKARTA -- When Anies Baswedan, a candidate for Indonesia's 2024 presidential election, said on Jan. 10 that his country's plan to relocate the capital city lacked public engagement, it sparked a firestorm of controversy.

"We did not have open, intensive and extensive conversations on why we need to establish a new capital and why we need to relocate," Baswedan, a former Jakarta governor, told a panel discussion hosted by ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, when he was asked if he would support the country's plan to relocate the capital to Borneo if he became president.

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