By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, Aug 11: Rise of Sarawak Efforts (ROSE) has cautioned that the move to relocate the Indonesian capital from Jakarta to Kalimantan may result in another wave of brain drain from Sarawak.
Its chairwoman Ann Teo said this may happen if the new capital provides better job opportunities for Sarawak’s youth.
“If this move is for real then it is more imperative that Sarawak must seriously think of ways to make our state more competitive otherwise we might lose our young people to this neighbouring nusantara.
“There is a risk of losing our human resources if we don’t,” said Teo in a statement yesterday.
She said presently people of Kalimantan has been coming over here to work, and seek medical treatment and education but the flow might be reversed if Indonesia shifts its capital to Kalimantan.
On Tuesday (Aug 6), the Jakarta Globe reported that Indonesia will move its capital from Jakarta to Kalimantan by 2024 at the earliest, with Indonesian president Joko Widodo (Jokowi) expected to announce the final choice of location later this month.
The president was reported as saying that the three options are the provinces of Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan and South Kalimantan.
“Whether it be Central, East, or South Kalimantan, it will be decided soon after a presentation of the details (of the viability studies).
“These are related to disaster risks, environmental capacity, economy, demography, sociopolitical conditions, security and all aspects that must be considered in detail, so the decision we take will be correct for our future vision,” Jokowi said. — DayakDaily
