West Java’s Governor M. Ridwan Kamil said Jakarta was never designed to become the nation’s capital city.
“I have read that actually during the colonial period, Batavia (Jakarta’s old name) was unfit to become a capital city,” he stated in a statement here on Wednesday.
“Back then, a malaria pandemic had killed thousands of people, which is why the colonial government decided to relocate the capital city,” he remarked.
During the survey, Malang, Surabaya, and Bandung were the three locations considered. Bandung was then chosen based on all considerations, he revealed.
The colonial government planned to relocate the capital city to Bandung that can be proven through the relocation of several government offices as well as military bases, he noted.
For instance, the central office of the state-run railways company PT KAI remains in Bandung to this day owing to the relocation of the Transportation Ministry.
The geology museum’s appearance in Bandung also came about as a result of the relocation of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry.
However, the Japanese came, which ruined the colonial government’s plan.
“Hence, Jakarta was never designed to become a capital city,” Kamil stated.
Essentially, the Indonesian government never had a capital city that fundamentally represents the nation’s value, the governor remarked.
Consequently, Jakarta developed to become the dominant economic machine and took over several roles, such as those related to business and governance, as well as an education city.
Since vital government and economic functions rest in Jakarta, all forms of disruption within the city could likely ruin the two activities easily.
Concerning the plan to relocate the nation’s capital city, Kamil deemed that this idea had already existed since the era of Indonesia’s first president, Soekarno.
“During that time, Bung Karno had considered Kalimantan. Hence, the idea had already existed since long. However, Bung Karno picked Palangkaraya,” he stated.
Source: Antara News