BALIPAPAN, THE NUSANTARA POST- President of Indonesia Jokowi held a meeting with a number of community and traditional leaders of East Kalimantan at Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman International Airport, Balikpapan City, East Kalimantan Province, Monday (31/01/2022).
These community leaders expressed their aspirations and supported the development of the State Capital (IKN) in East Kalimantan.
“Alhamdulillah, the President’s meeting with the traditional leaders of the people of East Kalimantan has just finished, and earlier we heard together that the leaders of the indigenous people of East Kalimantan were very enthusiastic and fully supported the development of IKN. Of course there are very valuable inputs, starting from the importance of paying attention to local wisdom, strengthening human resources, and also no less important is the cultural aspect which will continue to be considered and improved in the future IKN development, “said the Deputy for Monitoring, Evaluation, and Development Control, Ministry of National Development Planning (PPN)/Bappenas, Taufik Hanafi.
Support for IKN development was conveyed by the Sultan of Kutai Kartanegara, Muhammad Arifin. He welcomed the establishment of IKN in East Kalimantan.
“We, on behalf of the Sultan of Kutai Kartanegara, fully support 100 percent of the current IKN development,” he said.
The same thing was conveyed by the Sultan of Paser, Muhammad Jarnawi, who said that the Sultanate of Paser enthusiastically welcomed the development of IKN. He also admitted that he was very proud to be able to meet and have a dialogue with President Jokowi.
“We ourselves from the Paser Sultanate enthusiastically welcome IKN and we ask that the capital city of this new country be built immediately. Because we believe that the move to the new capital city will hopefully bring a new face and dignity to the world. We also asked the Paser Sultanate to build a Paser Sultanate Palace near IKN, the nation’s capital,” he explained.
The head of Kenya’s Dayak adat, Medan Tedung, gladly accepted the IKN development plan. In addition, he also asked that indigenous peoples be involved in the Authority Agency as well as the physical development of the IKN.
“First of all, with the existence of this IKN, please accommodate indigenous peoples within the Authority. The second is in physical development, the community as working partners. The third is local wisdom, please pay attention to local wisdom, customs, culture,” said Medan.
Support also came from Syarifuddin HR as the Chair of the Banjar Bubuhan Harmony. He also asked that local indigenous peoples pay more attention, especially regarding the quality of their human resources.
“We just ask that we pay attention to our human resources so that we don’t lose out to our brothers and sisters from outside, so that our brothers and sisters in our next generation can compete because the people of Kalimantan are welcome residents, who can always respect one another, “said Syarifuddin.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chairperson of 2 South Sulawesi Harmony Families, Andi Singkeru, said that as a migrant community his party had mingled and lived side by side with the indigenous people of Kalimantan. He said that any community that will fill the IKN will be the people of Indonesia.
“We are with our families, with our children and grandchildren, we are side by side with indigenous tribes, we hope that it can be the best forum for the future,” he said (Wan)
