"As a large nation, we should not merely think of short-term and narrow-scope interests but also broader interests for the benefit of the nation and state, as well as visionary interests in the face of global competition," President Joko Widodo said in his address to a limited meeting on the "Follow up to the Plan to Move the Capital" at the Presidential Office in Jakarta on Monday.
He said the idea of moving the capital of the Republic of Indonesia has been in motion since the era of founding President Soekarno, but the discourse has often seen confusion because it was never decided and implemented in a well-planned and mature way, he said.
He said several countries including Australia, Malaysia, Brazil and South Korea have moved their seats of government.
"To move the capital, we need detailed preparations in terms of selecting an appropriate location by taking into account geopolitics, geostrategy, supporting infrastructure and funding," he said.
The head of state believed that if preparations were in place, the plan to move the capital could be realized.
Also present at the meeting were Minister of National Development Planning/Head of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Bambang Brodjonegoro, Minister of Public Works and Housing Basuki Hadimuljono, Minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Syafrudin, Minister of the Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya, Minister of State Enterprises Rini Soemarno, and Minister of Trade Enggartiasto Lukita.
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