JAKARTA (ANN/JAKARTA POST) – President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is set to hold the first plenary cabinet meeting in the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) next week to discuss the transition to his successor’s government, despite uncertainties about whether president-elect Prabowo Subianto will continue the new capital project.
Next week’s meeting will mark the first assembly of all ministers at the new Garuda Palace in the future capital. This comes after Jokowi postponed a gathering during his visit last week.
State Secretary Pratikno announced on Tuesday that the meeting’s agenda would include an evaluation of the Jokowi administration’s work in its final year and the transition to the incoming Prabowo administration. President-elect Prabowo, currently the defense minister, is scheduled to attend the meeting.
“Discussions in a plenary session are often more general in nature, such as planning for next year and this year’s evaluations,” Pratikno said. “The meeting in Nusantara will also address the transition to president-elect Prabowo, especially given that this is the final phase of President Jokowi’s administration.”
Jokowi initially planned to hold the meeting in Nusantara during his visit last week when he spent several nights at the Garuda Palace. Observers saw this move as an attempt to dispel concerns over the capital’s sluggish development.
The cabinet meeting was initially scheduled for last Thursday, according to a minister. However, many ministers were on work trips abroad at the time. Jokowi told reporters he was waiting for all ministers to be available before holding the first cabinet meeting in Nusantara, also citing the readiness of the furniture, electricity, and water as reasons for the postponement. Jokowi returned to Jakarta last Tuesday after spending only two nights in the new capital.
In addition to the cabinet meeting, Jokowi will host a gathering in Nusantara with hundreds of regional leaders next Tuesday, where the President will give directives on “ensuring security and maintaining neutrality ahead of and during November’s regional elections,” according to Presidential Secretariat head Heru Budi Hartono.
Heru mentioned that regional heads would also receive instructions on implementing regional short- and long-term development plans.
The plenary cabinet meeting and regional leaders’ gathering will take place less than a week before Jokowi is scheduled to commemorate Independence Day in Nusantara on August 17, in parallel with another ceremony in Jakarta.
The Palace has announced that it will invite all living former presidents, including Megawati Soekarnoputri and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, to the Independence Day ceremony in Nusantara. However, they are also welcome to attend the celebration in Jakarta if they prefer. By Tuesday, State Secretary Pratikno said he could not yet confirm their attendance as the Palace was still in the process of sending out invitations.
The upcoming Independence Day celebrations in Nusantara were initially supposed to mark the start of the relocation of the capital from the sinking and congested Jakarta to Nusantara. However, Jokowi has postponed signing a presidential decree designating IKN as the new capital, citing multiple construction delays, lack of foreign investment, and managerial and land issues that have hampered the construction of the new city.
Jokowi has opened the possibility of the decree being signed by his successor Prabowo after he leaves office in October. Prabowo has pledged to continue developing the new capital, but observers noted he has not shown as much interest in accelerating the project due to fiscal constraints.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday in Nusantara, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Hadi Tjahjanto stated that the construction of the Garuda Palace, expected to provide the backdrop for the Independence Day celebration, has been completed.
“The Garuda Palace and the field in front of it are ready to be used for the Independence Day ceremony,” Hadi said, adding that “the ceremony in Nusantara will be an important milestone in Indonesian history.”
