Nusantara: Jokowi's folly?

Back in 2017, President Joko Widodo of Indonesia announced that he had decided to shift the political capital from Jakarta to an entirely new city that was given the official name of ''Nusantara.'' Despite the pandemic which sent the Indonesian economy into a tailspin, Widodo's commitment to the project did not waver and the bill ratifying the construction of the new city was passed in 2021.

However, this ambitious undertaking has attracted much controversy and has been roundly panned by detractors who insist that the benefits promised by the proponents of this project have been wildly exaggerated. During our discussion, we will examine some of the criticisms that have been leveled at Widodo for going ahead with the construction of Nusantara.

• https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/asean/indonesias-new-capital-nusantara-imperils-ancient-eden-ecological-disaster

• https://docs.google.com/document/d/16OZrhpguzw1YVw1t9KmOn1nDY1_EpU3Xuy1ULQkmGTk/edit?pli=1 (alt. link here: Scrutinising Nusantara: The Making of an Authoritarian City by Sulfikar Amir)