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Indonesia President Proposes Relocating Capital to Borneo

Reuters

   Updated Aug. 16, 2019, at 4:43 a.m.

   JAKARTA -- Indonesia's president on Friday proposed to move the capital
   from Jakarta, a crowded, polluted city of 10 million people, to the
   island of Borneo, though he left Indonesians guessing as to the exact
   location.

   President Joko Widodo suggested a new capital in Kalimantan, on the
   Indonesian side of the island shared with Malaysia and Brunei, in a
   speech to parliament, a day before the country's independence day
   holiday.

   "I hereby request your permission to move our national capital to
   Kalimantan," said Widodo, who will be sworn in for a second term in
   October after winning an election in April.

   "A capital city is not just a symbol of national identity, but also a
   representation of the progress of the nation. This is for the
   realization of economic equality and justice," he added.

   Widodo toured Kalimantan in May to survey potential sites and last
   month tweeted a shortlist of three provinces: Central, East and South
   Kalimantan.

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