By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, Aug 10: Sarawak should welcome the move of Indonesian President Joko Widodo to move its capital to Kalimantan, says Sarawak Federation of Chinese Associations president Dato Richard Wee.
“Sarawak should welcome such move as it will have positive impact on trade and economic development between Sarawak and Indonesia, given the closer proximity between the Capital of Indonesia and Capital of Sarawak,” he told DayakDaily today.
He believed that it will be a win-win situation for Sarawak and Indonesia as both will benefit from such a decision.
“With the move, Kalimantan would benefit from the infrastructural investment thereby creating many investment opportunities between Sarawak and Indonesia,” he said.
“The multiplier effect on the all these investments will definitely have a positive impact towards Sarawak,” he added.
With that and coupled with the close relationship between both the governments of Sarawak and Indonesia, Wee observed that the move will augur well in the future bilateral ties between the two which will further propagate closer trade, investment and cultural cooperation between the two countries.
According to a news report on Jakarta Globe, Indonesia will move its capital from Jakarta to Kalimantan by 2024 at the earliest, with Jokowi expected to announce the final choice of location later this month after having considered the three options he was given on Tuesday.
The president said the three options are in 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,” he added.— DayakDaily
