Jokowi wants citizens to choose ‘new capital’

Bloomberg

After dithering for decades, Indonesia has decided to move its capital from an overcrowded Jakarta, and President Joko Widodo wants its citizens to have a say in picking the new location.
Widodo, known as Jokowi, sought suggestions from the public about the new capital on his Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts, drawing thousands of responses from netizens.
“Jakarta now bears two burdens at the same time: as the centre of government and public services, as well as a business centre. Many countries have moved their capitals, while we are just floating it as an idea in each presidential era. In your opinion, where should the capital of Indonesia be located?,” Jokowi wrote in Bahasa on his Twitter account to 11.3 million followers.
Jokowi ordered his cabinet to start work on relocating the capital outside of Java island that houses more than 60 percent of the country’s 264 million population as he seeks to ensure economic development of the country’s far-flung islands. While moving Indonesia’s administrative centre has been discussed periodically for decades, there is now a sense of urgency as Jakarta fast approaches total gridlock.
Several social media users pitched Central and East Kalimantan as the location best suited for the new capital, while another Twitter user rooted for building a modern, eco-friendly capital modelled on examples from the Netherlands, Japan and New Zealand.