From Jakarta to Borneo, the construction of Indonesia’s new capital, suspended due to the Covid-19 epidemic, was recently put back on the agenda, the subject of a report from Southeast Asia by our RFI French-language correspondent.
Indonesia (Indonésie) is today the fourth most populous country in the world. President Joko Widodo announced a year and a half ago the construction of a new capital. But the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic forced the suspension of construction of the new capital in Borneo. Now, with Jakarta releasing sketches of the future Indonesian presidential palace in Bornéo, the construction of the new capital has resumed.
According to a report by our RFI correspondent in Southeast Asia Gabrielle Maréchaux on Wednesday (April 7, 2021), the design of Indonesia’s future new presidential palace features a 200-long bird of prey with wings spread, an eagle that belongs to the Indonesian national emblem with its wings spread, and whose symbolism is obvious to Indonesian citizens. In addition to that, there are many other secrets hidden within the architectural drawings of the new presidential palace posted by an Indonesian minister on the social network Instagram: the bird of prey, 76 meters high, symbolizes the 76th anniversary of Indonesia’s independence. The date of independence, August 17, 1945, is represented by the number of feathers on the bird’s neck, tail and wings: 45, 8 and 17.
Aesthetic controversy
Despite the above-mentioned homage, the drawing was posted on the Internet and immediately attracted a lot of criticism from Internet users. Some designers also gritted their teeth and argued that the design of the building was aesthetically too low, while others thought it was too tacky and not modern enough.
Reaction of Public Opinion
Questions were first raised about the government’s priorities at a time when Indonesia has yet to fully contain the Covid-19 outbreak. In the case of the new capital under construction, some urban planners argue that the authorities have put the cart before the horse. Indeed, the legal scope of such projects remains unclear. For example, the buildings being drafted do not appear to have been designed with defense standards in mind, nor with a sense of counter-terrorism protection.
Jakarta in the process of sinking
Indonesian ecologists argue that moving the capital from Jakarta to Borneo is a solution to one environmental disaster while creating another. The reason for the move was to solve the social problem of overcrowding and pollution in Jakarta. Jakarta suffered from annual flooding. The city was originally built unplanned on wetlands. Today, 40% is below sea level. The Indonesian capital is slowly sinking, with some neighborhoods sinking 20 cm per year.
Deforestation in Borneo
If the situation in Jakarta is troubling, the new site east of Borneo has other worrisome environmental problems. Logging and mining are seriously threatening the forests there. The local orangutans remain critically endangered. Today, the construction of a road linking the new capital from scratch, as well as the production and transportation of raw materials needed for this large construction site, is unlikely to improve the current situation.
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