Indonesia yesterday celebrated its independence anniversary at the site of its planned new capital, Nusantara, for the first time, in a scaled-back ceremony as the city, which is still under construction, is beset by problems and faces delays.
A legacy project of outgoing Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Nusantara has experienced construction delays and funding shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a lack of foreign investment and more recently, resignations of project leaders.
In yesterday’s celebration of the country’s independence from Japanese rule that ended in 1945, the number of attendees was cut to 1,300 guests, down from an initial 8,000, as lodgings and food supply were limited, Widodo said earlier this week.
Photo: Reuters
Hundreds of attendees from local communities and construction workers attended the ceremony under red umbrellas, with several under-construction buildings standing behind them.
Mulyana, a 38-year-old construction worker at the new capital, said he spent the past nine months working to construct a ministry office building that was partially used for yesterday’s celebration amid limited infrastructure to move the materials.
“For five months we worked in 24-hour shifts. Due to limited access we need two to three hours [daily] to move the concrete using heavy equipment,” Mulyana, who like many Indonesians has a single name, said on Friday.
When he came a year earlier, water and electricity supply were limited at the site, Mulyana added.
Nusantara is being built in a forested pocket on the eastern side of the island of Borneo, about 1,200km from the current capital, Jakarta, on the island of Java.
Jokowi has sought to shore up confidence in the US$32 billion mega-project in the past few months, breaking ground for hotels and office buildings and holding the first cabinet meeting in the eagle-shaped new state palace.
However, he has also said plans to relocate thousands of civil servants to Nusantara could be postponed, subject to the readiness of the capital city, after previously ordering them to pack up and move in September.
Incoming Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto, who also attended the ceremony, has promised to continue Nusantara.
Yemen’s separatist leader has vowed to keep working for an independent state in the country’s south, in his first social media post since he disappeared earlier this month after his group briefly seized swathes of territory. Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces last month captured two Yemeni provinces in an offensive that was rolled back by Saudi strikes and Riyadh’s allied forces on the ground. Al-Zubaidi then disappeared after he failed to board a flight to Riyadh for talks earlier this month, with Saudi Arabia accusing him of fleeing to Abu Dhabi, while supporters insisted he was
‘SHOCK TACTIC’: The dismissal of Yang mirrors past cases such as Jang Song-thaek, Kim’s uncle, who was executed after being accused of plotting to overthrow his nephew North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has fired his vice premier, compared him to a goat and railed against “incompetent” officials, state media reported yesterday, in a rare and very public broadside against apparatchiks at the opening of a critical factory. Vice Premier Yang Sung-ho was sacked “on the spot,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency said, in a speech in which Kim attacked “irresponsible, rude and incompetent leading officials.” “Please, comrade vice premier, resign by yourself when you can do it on your own before it is too late,” Kim reportedly said. “He is ineligible for an important duty. Put simply, it was
The Chinese Embassy in Manila yesterday said it has filed a diplomatic protest against a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman over a social media post that included cartoonish images of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea. The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels. Tarriela’s Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of him giving a
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday announced a deal with the chief of Kurdish-led forces that includes a ceasefire, after government troops advanced across Kurdish-held areas of the country’s north and east. Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said he had agreed to the deal to avoid a broader war. He made the decision after deadly clashes in the Syrian city of Raqa on Sunday between Kurdish-led forces and local fighters loyal to Damascus, and fighting this month between the Kurds and government forces. The agreement would also see the Kurdish administration and forces integrate into the state after months of stalled negotiations on
RSS